High
by Chewbaka
Summary: Leanne never thought much about it when her family moved to NYC. She didn't like it, she didn't hate it. But when she starts seeing shadows outside her window, she discovers that NYC houses more than just normal folks and criminals. Much more. Now she's experiencing an all new High as she's pulled into a world of weapons, broken families, uncertain romance and ninja turtles.
1. Chapter 1

**I**

Leanne hated to admit it, but the condo was actually pretty cool. The one side was made entirely of glass that gave an amazing view of the city and there were three bedrooms, which meant she wouldn't have to share a room with her little brother. She hesitantly stepped closer to the window and tried to see how high they were, but even peering down with her nose pressed against the glass didn't let her see the entrance of their building.

"Creepy," Leanne murmured, moving away. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to droop. Leanne's parents and her brother, Lukas, had gone out to fetch some supper. She'd opted to stay at their new place to unpack her boxes while they were out, but so far she'd only managed to set up a mattress on the floor with a sleeping bag and pillow. Her bed frame was being shipped to New York from Africa, along with all their other furniture.

Instead of unpacking, Leanne had been wandering around admiring the different atmosphere of their condo. It was very different from their home in South Africa. For one thing, here everything was painted in a crisp white; even the wood floor boards! The rooms were airy and much bigger with humungous windows that overlooked a stunning city view instead of rainbow flowers and veld.

She hadn't realized the city would be so cold, though. It was a good thing that they sometimes got cold winters back home, so she had some clothing that would be suitable for the dismal weather. At the moment, she was clad in a pair of tracksuit pants, her oversized bathrobe and a pair of her favourite fluffy, striped socks. Unfortunately, she hadn't found her slippers yet. They'd been stuffed in an unmarked box that was now stacked in a corner of her new room. Her bedroom was the last door down the hall. It was also painted white with matching floor boards. Her temporary bed was set up against one wall and her cell phone was plugged into a socket in the wall. The room was nice, with an adjoining bathroom that connected with Lukas's bedroom. The sucky thing was that just outside her bedroom window was a fire escape.

She looked at it distastefully; she couldn't wait to have that window bolted and barred, and her curtains put up. Then she'd be sure that no weirdoes' would be stopping to stare at her as she slept.

The front door opened and Leanne walked out her bedroom at the same time that her family came into the condo. Her mother was short with cropped dark hair. Her thin arms were wrapped around two brown paper bags. Behind her mother came Lukas. His blond hair was spiked up at the front and he wore a pair of baggy jeans and one of his band t-shirts. Their father was dressed casually in blue jeans and a button-up shirt. His glasses were perched on the end of his nose, looking as if they were going to fall off at the slightest movement. His brown hair was dishevelled and he didn't look very happy.

"City drivers," He complained loudly, "They're worse than the taxis!"

Leanne smiled and went to help them carry the parcels in. They'd gotten groceries for the week, as well as pizza for supper; her mom hadn't felt like cooking. They stocked the fridge and minibar. They'd never had a minibar before and they didn't drink alcohol, so they'd decided to fill it with bottles of water. It was kind of cute.

Since neither their dining room table nor couch had been shipped yet, the four of them settled down on a blanket on the floor in a line with their pizza to look out at the city lights. That was one of the things Leanne had been looking forward to for the move. Everyone spoke of the lights as being alive. She had never thought that her dad's work would one day bring them to the Big Apple. When she was little she had thought it was named that because it was in the shape of an apple, now she knew better, she thought…

After eating, her parents went off to bed. Lukas and Leanne hadn't been enrolled in a school yet (as the move had been so unexpected and unprepared), so they were on an unofficial holiday until the new term. Their mom was quick to point out that they should probably find jobs to fill their time as she wouldn't allow her children to be lying idle around the condo all day.

Leanne shuddered at the thought of being stuck with her brother all day every day for the next two months. Sure, she loved the twelve-year-old boy with his excessive hair gel usage and baggy t-shirts, but they just didn't get along well for more than two hours at a time.

When Lukas took out his laptop, Leanne decided to call it a night and headed to her room. Her eyes were fixed on her bedroom window as she plopped onto her mattress and began brushing her shoulder-length brown hair with her fingers. Then she pulled off her socks, clicked off her light and wriggled down into her sleeping bag.

She knew she'd been lying there for a long time when she heard her brother stamp his way to bed. Her hazel eyes were staring at the ceiling; the pristine white starting to give her a headache. She was slowly fading into sleep when a shadow flew over her. She suddenly felt awake and she sat up and looked out her window. Leanne frowned when she saw no one out on the fire escape, but when another shadow passed over her she lifted her gaze to the stars that shone between her building and the one next to it. A few seconds later, two more silhouettes leapt between the gap of the buildings.

Leanne slowly detached her cold fingers from the window and sat back on her legs, blinking. That was something you certainly didn't see every day, even if you were from the other side of the world. She shook her head, as if to free it from the illusion of flying people.

Two minutes later she'd attached a blanket to the window with tape and she was back in bed with her head hidden beneath the folds.


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

Yellow light lit up the entire condo the next morning. Delightful aromas of fried bacon and sausages from the kitchen beckoned its occupants to waken. Lukas was out first, his duvet pulled right over his head and wrapped tightly around him. A step behind him was Leanne; she was duck-walking towards the smell of food while wrapped in the cocoon of her sleeping bag. She'd pulled on one of her woollen beanies and the shoulders of her bathrobe could be seen from the top of the sleeping bag.

Their mother raised an elegantly shaped eyebrow at her children. Lillian was already dressed in pressed trousers and a stylish blazer with heels. "Where's your father?"

Lukas shrugged and Leanne replied through a yawn, "Bed."

At that moment Markus came out the master bedroom. His tousled hair looked worse than the day before and he wore a pair of plaid pyjama bottoms with a cotton bathrobe. His glasses were skew on his face as he dragged himself to the kitchen.

Leanne tried not to giggle at her mother's face of cold fury. Lukas wasn't even trying to hide his snorts of laughter. It was one thing for Lillian to bed mad at them for their morning routines, but it was a whole other thing when it was her husband. Markus went wordlessly to the coffee maker and poured himself a mug. Then he turned around and shuffled back into their bedroom.

Lillian gestured for her kids to get breakfast and strode to the bedroom after Markus, her heels clicking smartly on the floor boards. Leanne went to one of the cabinets and took out two plates, passing one to Lukas. They crowded together at the stove, dishing up a pile of sausages. When the sound of raised voices reached their ears, they traded glances and Leanne ushered her little brother to her bedroom.

In her room, she went to the window, pulled down the makeshift curtain and opened it wide. She carefully stepped out onto the fire escape. Lukas followed after her and they sat side by side on the metal steps, eating breakfast. Ten minutes later, they saw their mom walk out the front of their building and hail a taxi.

"What you doing today?" Lukas said, munching on his last fried sausage.

Leanne leaned back and breathed in the cold morning air. It was quite pleasant to be sitting out there. She shrugged one shoulder, "Mom said I should start looking for a job."

"You gonna be a waitress? With you being the anti-social person you are? What about the time you tried to help mom serve those weird snail thingies?"

Leanne gave her brother a look and retorted, "Glad to know you have faith in me. And that snail thing wasn't my fault. That lady should've known not to mess with a girl holding a tray of buttered snails. Especially, since I was just starting to wear heels."

Lukas rolled his eyes, "I don't see why you bother; we'll probably be moving back in a month."

Leanne stopped herself from agreeing and stood up, "Come on, I'll do the dishes today."

An hour later Leanne was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white jacket, a scarf wrapped loosely around her neck and her brown hair piled into a beanie. She left her building with a map, her cell phone and her wallet. For the next few hours she wandered around the city, going past stores with 'help wanted' signs in their windows. She had no luck all morning and after stopping for lunch at a 24/7 diner, she continued her job searching.

Sometime in the middle of the afternoon she stopped in front of an antique store. In the darkened window, among an assortment of china dolls and decorated tea spoons, was a piece of white cardboard with bold, red lettering announcing 'HELP WANTED'.

"Better a cashier than a waitress," Leanne murmured to herself and stepped through the door.

It smelt a bit musty and it was crammed with a bunch of old furniture and ornaments, but it wasn't a bad looking store. A woman with red hair smiled at her from behind the counter.

"Afternoon, would you like any help?"

Leanne laughed nervously; damn, she hated doing that. "Um, actually I'm here about the help sign. I was wondering if you still had an opening."

"Oh, well, that'd be great! I'm April O'Neil."

"Leanne Volk."

April was really friendly and after a short interview Leanne was given the job.

"The pay's not that good, I'm afraid. This place isn't doing very well at the moment." April said.

Leanne smiled at her, "No problem. I just need something to do while I'm here."

"You can start tomorrow, or next week if you want some free time."

"Tomorrow's fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then?" Leanne waved her hand as she stepped outside. It was starting to get dark already. She pulled her beanie further over her ears and started walking.

A while later the sun was almost completely gone and she was still a long way from the condo; she took out her map and opened it up, trying to smooth the sharp folds. She was squinting at the symbol that she thought was central park when the map was snatched out of her hands and she was grabbed from behind.

A hand slapped over her mouth before she could scream for help and the owner began to drag her into an alley. The darkness of the alley was all the persuasion she needed to start thrashing and biting. She managed to kick at a garbage can and it crashed to the ground, making a racket as it went down. She thrust her elbow back and caught her assailant in the stomach. With a groan she was released and she broke into a hasty run.

Leanne let out a strangled cry as she was tackled from behind. She felt loose gravel cut into her skin and an iron tasting liquid was quickly filling her mouth. She dizzily lifted her head, her body still being pinned by the heavy weight on her back and legs, and spat out some blood.

"Gimme' your money and I might just let you leave here still being able to walk on your own legs." A hoarse voice grunted in her ear.

Leanne coughed, trying not to choke on her blood, "I don't h-have money." She mentally slapped herself for stuttering. The man on top of her growled and shoved her further into the ground. Leanne felt his fingers fumbling for her belt's buckle and she stiffened as cold dread washed over.

"Get offa me!" She shrieked and tried to throw him off.

They struggled for a few seconds, then, suddenly, his weight was gone. Leanne looked over her shoulder and her hazel eyes, which looked dark brown now, widened at the sight of her assailant being held against a brick wall by a burly figure. She tried to roll over onto her back, but found herself too sore and shocked to move. She pushed herself onto her hands and knees and was about to try to get to her feet when a voice spoke up from beside her, "Shouldn't we help the dudette?"

Leanne lifted her eyes and her mouth fell open a little. Two more figures, all muscle and sinew, were gazing down at her, looking a little unsure. They stood in the shadows between a wall and a dumpster, but she could make out bulky bodies and concerned eyes. She squealed and pushed herself back, landing uncomfortably on her probably bruised back. She let out a whoosh of air and stared at the night sky above her.

A pair of arms gently picking up her upper body brought her attention back to the two who had been observing her.

"And that is why young ladies shouldn't be walking around at night; they always seem to hit their heads or something like that when we come around."

"Aww, but that was HER fault this time!"

"Shut it, Mikey! Hey, you ok?"

Leanne found herself peering into a pair of soft brown eyes surrounded by purple fabric. She glanced down at the steady arms around her and noticed olive green skin. She gaped at it and silently poked it with her index finger.

"I think the chick's officially lost it." The first voice, higher than the second, chuckled.

"Quiet! Miss, do you feel pain anywhere?"

Leanne felt like she wanted to puke, but that was probably from swallowing the blood in her mouth. The feeling doubled when the arms around her pulled her to her feet and held her against a dense chest.

"Hello? Miss, can you hear me?"

Leanne's eyes travelled from the warm, green hands on her forearms to the strong shoulders of matching colour and down a build of athletic legs and plastron. She felt centred for a second and she stepped back out of the arms that hesitantly let go of her. Her eyes jumped from her olive green helper to his companions who were now looking at her with mixed expressions. There were four of them now; she'd been too preoccupied to notice the new arrival. Each wore a different coloured bandanna of red, blue, orange and purple. They all had powerful looking bodies but the red masked one was broader, the blue one had an enviable posture and the orange one was grinning at her like a devoted puppy. She walked backwards slowly, never once taking her eyes off of them. The purple masked one seemed a little reluctant to let her leave, but they didn't move as she moved backwards onto the pavement. Once she felt she was at a safe distance from her four green saviours, she spun on her heel and took off down the street, trying not to feel nauseous at the sudden movement.

She shocked herself by running all the way to her building and flying up the stairway to their condo. Once inside, she ignored her brother's startled squeak at her entrance and rushed to their adjoining bathroom. She locked both doors to the bathroom before confronting her reflection.

There was a streak of blood going from the one corner of her mouth and her cheek was a little discoloured from when she'd fallen. She peeled off her jacket and lifted her shirt; there were some bruises on her tummy, but there was nothing very serious. The worst was her hands; bits of gravel were embedded in her palms and blood was everywhere. Leanne turned the bath's taps on full blast and poured in an excessive amount of antiseptic liquid into the hot water. She yanked off her clothes and hopped in, cringing at the stings that seemed to come from every part of her body. She soaked for about two hours, adding more hot water when she wanted, barely acknowledging when Lukas tried to bang the door down.

When she climbed out of the tub, she was pink and her scrapes weren't as painful. She dried herself off and unlocked the bathroom doors before closing herself into her bedroom. She dressed into a pair of clean pyjama pants and an oversized jersey before wrapping herself with a blanket. She must've looked like an overdone taco because when she came out of her bedroom her father and Lukas were looking at her as if they didn't know whether to laugh at her or ask her what was wrong. They both stared as she made herself a mug of hot chocolate and grabbed a packet of crisps before vanishing into her room. A few minutes later, they watched as she taped a sign to her door and disappeared back into her room. The sign read 'I WILL NOT BE BLAMED FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET INTO MY ROOM'.

They glanced at each other, then went back to discussing the benefits of instant noodles.

In her room, Leanne hugged her mug close to her chest. She sat on the floor with her back against her door, her eyes on her window. She'd left it slightly open. She wasn't hoping, but she was waiting… Ok, maybe she was hoping… Just a little bit.

Alright, she was waiting and hoping that those four green men had been alright after she'd run off. She couldn't understand why she was waiting for them; it wasn't like they were a bunch of perverts who'd follow her home. Right?

She changed her mind about waiting for them. She hurriedly got up to close the window. As she was about to unlatch it to bring it back down, a grinning face appeared behind the dark glass. Leanne stared at it in silent horror.

"Hey, are you gonna let us in or are you just gonna let us sit out here freezing our tails off?"

Leanne blinked twice then silently stepped back. The grinning face opened the window wider and squeezed inside, followed by one other. It was the orange and purple masked men. Leanne's eyes skimmed over them. Alright, they resembled man-like turtles more than just giant green men.

The purple banded one clasped his hands together nervously, "Uh we just came to see if you made it back alright but Mikey," He sent a measured glare at the orange one, "wanted me to check that you weren't hurt or anything."

"M-Mikey?" Leanne cursed the habit the came from her nervousness.

"That's me! The lovable, loving Mikester!" The orange masked turtle bounded up to her, his mouth open in a toothy, Cheshire grin.

Leanne nodded at him weakly. Without saying anything, she handed him her half-full mug of hot chocolate and moved towards her mattress. The purple masked turtle stepped back to let her go past him and they watched as she lay down on her bed and pulled her blankets up over her face

It was quiet for a few seconds, then….

"I'm seeing green body builders in my room. I don't know if this is good or bad. Oh no…"

The two turtles smiled at the bundled body and started towards the window. Mikey downed the last of the hot chocolate before following him and closing the window behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

When Leanne's alarm went off the next morning her stomach was growling and she was lying in bed with her sheets pulled right over her face. She rolled off of the mattress, trying to ignore the stinging and her stiff muscles. She glanced at her window and, noting that it was closed, she slowly stood up and wobbled to the bathroom. She stood in the shower for a while, hoping that the hot water would soothe her aches. When that failed she got out and dressed into a pair of thick leggings and a knitted dress with knee high boots.

Her mother had already left for work and her father was still cooped up in their bedroom. Lukas was in his room playing games on his laptop with headphones covering his ears.

Leanne was just heading out the door when she remembered that she'd left her cell phone in her room. She backtracked and unplugged it. She was putting it in her pocket when her eyes caught sight of her hot chocolate mug. It sat, empty, beneath the window. She frowned at it and slowly moved away.

She took an entirely different route to get to April's store, being sure not to get close to any alleys or dodgy looking places. She wasn't about to relive the previous night. Maybe she should invest in a taser or a bat, or something of the sort.

April was smiling cheerily when Leanne arrived.

"Thanks for coming in," She greeted. Her smile faded when she saw the scrapes on her new employee's hands, "What happened? Are you alright?"

Leanne followed her gaze to her hands and quickly put them behind her back, "Yeah, just got into some trouble on my way home."

April came closer and took hold of her hands, inspecting them, "You cleaned them really well. If you want I could give you a lift back home after work." Leanne thought over the offer, then politely declined, "I enjoy the walk. I get to see all the lights."

April left a few minutes later, promising that she'd make a plan for her. Leanne stood behind the counter, but when no customers showed up for twenty minutes, she decided to explore the store. There were vintage dresses with corsets and lace, dinner sets of elaborate designs and faded pieces of furniture. Leanne was considering balancing a spoon on her nose like a seal when a customer came in. She quickly put the spoon back where she found it and hurried to stand behind the counter. She tried to put on a friendly smile, similar to April's, but she almost immediately lowered her lips with a resigned sigh.

"Good morning, would you like any assistance?" She asked, trying not to sound too robotic.

With the customer in front of her, she got a decent look at him. He wore a long trench coat and trousers and a wide brimmed hat that shadowed his face. Even with the trench coat, though, Leanne could make out a somewhat familiar, powerful body. She frowned thoughtfully and repeated her question when she got no answer.

"Eh, is April 'round?" His accent was thick and obviously Brooklyn.

"No, she's out for the day. Can I give her a message?"

He seemed uncomfortable, "Never mind. I'll, uh, I'll just be going. See ya." He started to leave, but when he got to the door he said over his shoulder, "Don't go wandering 'round at night anymore. It's ain't safe for chicks like ya. Or at least get a guy that can look after ya."

The customer's lips curled upwards when Leanne's mouth dropped open. He was out the door before she could run around the counter, but she rushed outside anyway and looked down the street. He was nowhere in sight. Leanne growled and stomped her foot in annoyance. The rest of the day passed by uneventfully; though Leanne kept peeking out the door to see if the trench coat customer was coming out of hiding.

April was about half an hour late but when she arrived she apologized so profusely that Leanne had to reassure her twice that it was alright and that she didn't mind. They said goodnight and Leanne headed back to her building. She took the long way again to avoid the alley and, despite the assurance that she wasn't near any dark places, she felt eyes on her. It was only when she got to the condo that the feeling left. She was just in time to eat the rest of dinner with her family before closing herself in her room.

She sat by her window, staring outside. She couldn't see the same view as from the main room, but she could if she went up to the roof. Leanne bundled herself up in one of her bulky winter jackets and pulled on an extra pair of socks and her boots. She grabbed a chocolate bar from one of her handbags that she'd unpacked and slid out onto the fire escape. She climbed the two stories to the roof where she sat down on the ground and opened her chocolate bar. She took a bite and stared out at the lights of the city. They were so beautiful, so unreal.

"Any left for me?"

Leanne leapt to her feet to face her visitor, choking and coughing.

"Whoa, hold on there, dudette."

Two hard pats on the back almost pushed Leanne over. Once her coughing fit was over, she looked up into the Cheshire grin of 'Mikey'.

"M-Mikey?"

"Hi!" His white teeth almost glowed in the dark.

The orange masked turtle was bouncing and bubbly, which was strange considering it was past 10pm and most _normal _people would be heading to bed.

Leanne couldn't help but feel a little excited as well. Mikey was contagious.

"Um, why are you up here? On my roof? With me?" She asked.

The turtle leaned forward and whispered loudly, "'Cause Leo said we weren't allowed to come visit you again, so I snuck off when we went on patrol."

"Who's L-Leo?"

"My big bro. I kept saying how cool you are and how you don't scream when you see us. And that's gnarly, ya know. Now, April, she screamed her head off when she first saw us. Well, technically, she saw our sensei first, but still, she screamed anyway. But now we're really close and she's awesome, like a big sister without all the green skin—"

Leanne nodded dumbly as he rambled on. All the while, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about how adorable he was. His big baby blues were expressive and sparkling. His hand gestures were wild and uncontained. He was like the adorable baby brother she'd never had. Lukas was never this adorable. Lukas wasn't adorable in any way.

"Uh, what's your name? April told us once, but I sorta forgot."

Leanne jumped at the question and answered, "Leanne." As an afterthought, she added, "You know April?"

"Yeah, the red head, your boss."

"Uh, don't be offended. But, um, does she know that you're…" She gestured hopelessly at him.

"Oh, the turtle thing? Yeah, she's cool with it," He grinned again, "So, can I have some of that chocolate?"

Leanne glanced down at her hand that was still tightly holding her chocolate bar. She nodded and gave it to him with a small smile.

She sat down again and Mikey plopped down next to her, chomping the remainder of the chocolate. Once he was done licking his three fingers, he joined her in looking out at the city lights.

"Hey, are you ok with me? 'Cause you're really quiet for a girl."

Leanne looked at him. He was gazing at her with a hopeful expression. She thought about it over in her head before answering carefully, "I think you are strange," she watched his shoulders slump, "BUT, strange isn't always bad." His whole frame seemed to light up. His grin was back in place and it only grew as Leanne continued speaking, "You guys are really nice; not everyone would have had the guts to help someone, especially someone in the situation that I was in. You and your brothers are good guys. And strong! Gosh, I don't think I've seen such a ripped bicep before." She laughed and added, "I think you're cool too, Mikey."

Mikey laughed with her and said, "Aw! If its muscles you're into, then you should see Raphie. He's the muscle head of the family."

They sat together for a while on the roof, getting to know each other. Leanne discovered Mikey's full name and his brothers'. Leanne spoke of her family and the move.

Leanne was starting to yawn when she heard Mikey mutter, "Shell!"

Then they were surrounded.

**I just want to say thanks to rinpup 14; your reviews are the best! They encourage me to update quickly. You are my first reviewer and I hope to see you review when I finally eventually this story. Please continue reading and thanks again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

Leanne leapt to her feet, letting out a noise that sounded like something between a squeak and a squeal. She hurriedly backed into Mikey, who'd gotten up with her, and he grabbed her arms to prevent her from falling over. Mikey slung an arm around her shoulders before facing the intruders.

"Hey, bros," He grinned at the three turtles that stood in a triangle around them.

The purple one that Leanne had met the night before was giving her an apologetic half-smile, whilst the two with the red and blue masks were glaring at her. The red one stepped forward and smacked Mikey upside the head, "What did we say about the chick, shell fer brains?" His voice was husky and had a thick Brooklyn accent, "She's off limits."

Leanne felt a little annoyed at how he addressed her, but she was more irritated about him hitting Mikey. She silently scowled at him and the dark green turtle caught her gaze, "What you looking at?"

"A-An ass," Leanne replied coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh ho ho, so the pip don't only squeak, but it can't talk properly either," He said, his golden eyes flashing behind his red bandanna.

Leanne felt her face heat up and she stalked out from under Mikey's arm and up to the smirking turtle. He waited expectantly as she stopped in front of him. She gritted her teeth and waved her arms in furious gestures, but she seemed unable to convert her angry thoughts into words because she then merely growled at him and pushed past him to go towards the fire escape. She was stopped by his low chuckle and his hand catching hold of the back of her jacket, dragging her back despite her attempts at digging her feet into the ground.

She was pulled back into the circle of the four turtle brothers, held in place by the red masked turtle's grip. The turtle with the blue bandanna observed her with searching silver eyes before speaking, "Raph, let her go; it's not like she could outrun us."

This made Leanne snap her head to look at him in bewilderment, "H-Huh?"

"Dudes, you're making her look sick again."

Mikey's statement made every one of their faces drop into concern as they looked down at her and Raph released her, grimacing. Leanne readjusted her jacket and moved to stand next to Mikey; this time, no one made a move to stop her from seeking comfort from the orange banded turtle. He grinned down at her reassuringly, slinging his arm around her shoulders again.

"Sooo," He glanced at his brothers, "What are we gonna do? Can she come home with us?"

Leanne sent him a freaked out expression, and the blue masked turtle spoke up before she could, "No, Michelangelo, she's not coming home with us." Leanne cringed at the sternness in his voice. His demeanour wasn't helping either; his back was straight and his arms crossed firmly over his plastron. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth hadn't once lessened from its straight line.

"Aww, Leo," Mikey's lips turned downwards into a pout.

Leanne was starting to get a bit confused, with all the names that she was picking up on. She'd stopped listening to the turtles' discussion and was now just staring at the toes of her boots, trying to figure out if she would be able to jump down the fire escape and get into her room before being tackled by either the red or blue banded turtles.

The argument between Mikey and his brothers was becoming heated as the topic came to Leanne's apparent disloyalty. The only ones not actively participating were Leanne and the purple masked turtle. He stood to her other side, still with an apologetic smile on his lips as words were thrown back and forth.

Leanne leaned closer to him and whispered, "Hey, what's your name?"

He looked down at her and replied, "I'm Donatello."

"Oh."

Mikey piped up, despite the argument that was taking place, "But you can call him Donnie."

Leanne nodded in understanding. A bulb seemed to light up in her head and she turned back to Mikey, "Does that mean you also have a longer name, like Michael?"

Mikey and Donnie snorted and answered simultaneously, "Michelangelo."

"Michelangelo?" Leanne's face lit up, "Aw, that's so cute, Mikey!"

The three realized that they were the only ones conversing. The two elder turtles were looking at them disdainfully and Leanne was sure that the red banded one wanted to hit someone.

Donnie sidled closer to Leanne, saying to his brothers, "Look guys, Leanne's alright with us; even more so than April. Haven't you noticed that she hasn't screamed once yet?"

Four pairs of eyes turned to her and Leanne looked up at the star speckled sky self-consciously.

"Maybe the chick's like Mikey, no brains."

The red masked turtle's comment brought her eyes back to meet his challenging stare. He was smirking at her cockily.

Leanne squared her jaw and placed her hands on her hips, retorting, "Excuse me, weird green guy with the rotten attitude, but I've never gotten lower than a B+ in my entire life."

The turtle's eyes narrowed, "So?"

"So? You don't look the particularly b-bright."

"At least I can talk properly with s-s-s-stammering." He taunted her, his smirk widening.

"It's a n-nervous habit." She muttered, sticking out her tongue at him.

She was pulling in her tongue when it was deftly caught between two green fingers. She glared scornfully up at the smirking turtle.

"Bhat's dithgusting!" She whined, trying to pull her tongue away.

"Eww, that's sorta gross," Mikey laughed as Leanne shot him a helpless look.

The blue banded turtle stepped forward with a sigh, "Raphael, that's enough," He turned to Leanne, saying, "Look, I don't trust you, so we're going to put in place a few rules to ensure you don't do anything that could put us danger."

Mikey groaned, "Leo, seriously dude, just chill out."

Silver eyes stared him down, "You're going to be in a lot of trouble when we get home, Michelangelo."

Donnie spoke up for the first time, "So, the rules Leo?"

"We'll take turns spending the night at her place. April should be able to keep an eye on her during the day."

Leanne broke in, "W-What? You mean I've got to keep a turtle in my bedroom because you have t-trust issues."

"Well, yeah."

Leanne looked at him as if he was crazy and replied, "Look, Lee or Lenard or whatever, I can't have a turtle in my room. My parents would go crazy and my mom's a neat freak."

"Well, either we stay with you or you stay with us. Either way, we're keeping a close watch on you."

Leanne flexed her clenched fingers, staring at him, then threw her arms into the air and said, "Fine, whatever! I'm going to bed."

**Thank you for the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**V**

Leanne lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She had tried falling asleep, but knowing that she wasn't alone in the darkness made it impossible to do so. She yanked her sleeping bag down to her waist and huffed, "Do you have to stare at me!"

The reply came from a corner of her room, "I'm not staring at you."

"Yes, you are! I can feel it!"

"My eyes aren't even open."

Leanne rolled over onto her tummy and clicked on her light. It blinded her for a few seconds before her eyes adjusted and she glared at the blue masked turtle that sat cross-legged on her floor. His eyes were shut and his face was relaxed. He called what he was doing 'meditating'.

Leanne frowned and placed her chin in her palm, and said, "I can't sleep with you being all creepy ninja in my room."

"You are disrupting my meditation."

"Well, you're disrupting my beauty sleep."

The turtle sighed and opened one eye, "Just close your eyes and imagine that I'm not here."

"I can't do that when I already know that you're here."

"You haven't tried hard enough then."

Leanne pursed her lips and replied, "Look, Lee—"

"My name is not Lee, it is Leonardo."

"Whatever, Leonardo, can't you go sit in the bathroom instead?"

"No, I can't," He opened both of his silver eyes to look at her pointedly, "Your brother may see me."

"Lukas doesn't see anything before 11am."

"I'm not meditating in your bathroom." He said with finality in his voice.

Leanne thought for a moment, then said, "What about my closet?"

"I am not meditating in your closet."

"Leonardo!" Leanne whined.

Leo gave her a steely gaze that said that he wouldn't be moving any time soon.

"Fine!"

Leanne threw herself back into bed and clicked off her light. There was silence in the room for the space of an hour. Then Leo heard movement from the bed. He kept his eyes closed, sensing that it was only the girl.

Then a soft, fleece blanket was pulled around him and he felt a pillow being pushed into his lap. He opened his eyes and watched as Leanne stumbled back to her bed in the dark. He raised an eye ridge and pulled the blanket closer, not bothering to hold back a small, amused smile, since she wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

A few hours later, Leanne was curled into a ball, breathing deeply. Leo folded the blanket she'd given him and placed it neatly on top of the pillow. He opened her window as little as possible as to not let in the cold, early morning air and slipped out onto the fire escape. He made sure to shut it tightly before disappearing.

Leanne only woke up when her cell phone alarm went off. She jerked awake and groggily switched it off. Slowly, she climbed off of her mattress and shuffled to the bathroom. She showered quickly, relishing in the steam, then got out and dried off. She went out into her bedroom, wrapped in a towel and fumbled in one of her boxes for clothes. She'd just pulled out a pair of jeans when she realized that she was supposed to be housing a turtle.

She squeaked and dropped the pair of jeans, spinning around. But the corner was empty except for the pillow and folded blanket.

She let out a sigh of relief and continued rifling through the box for clothing. In a few minutes she was dressed in jeans and a baggy, woollen jersey. Her wet brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she'd found another pair of her boots.

She grabbed a flask and filled it with hot tea before grabbing a box of biscuits and heading out to work. April was looking out for her when Leanne came inside. She gave her a small smile and helped her take off her jacket, hanging it on one of the antique hat stands.

"How was your night?"

Leanne gave her a dirty look; the bags under her eyes should've said it all. April laughed nervously and said, "Sorry. I heard that you met the guys."

It took a while for Leanne to figure out who the guys were. But she nodded in understanding when she did, "Yeah, they really know how to keep a girl up at night."

April laughed loudly, replying, "Ooh, yes. I heard about the new rule about an evening escort."

Leanne smiled tiredly and went to sit behind the counter, "Are you going to be in the shop today?" She asked.

April shook her head, "No, I have to go out of the city to see a potential seller. I'll be back late, so I was wondering if you could close up the store and maybe go up to the apartment. You can stay and watch TV until I get back?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Thank you so much," April looked relieved. She started towards the door, buttoning up her coat, "There's frozen pizza in the freezer if you feel hungry."

"Frozen pizza?"

"Yeah, the boys love it." And she was out the door.

Leanne played around with the silverware for most of the day, only stopping once to help a customer who wanted to buy a brass pocket watch. He was a good looking guy with dark hair and a mischievous smile. The first thing he'd said when he came inside was "Hey, I'm not a professional photographer, but I can picture you and me together."

His eyes twinkled flirtatiously and he leaned his elbows on the countertop. Leanne felt her face begin to burn and she said, "Can I help y-you with something?" She cursed her nervous habit.

His smile widened, "Yeah, I saw something I liked in here."

Leanne's eyes jumped around the room, "What was it? I could find the price if you'd like to take it now."

"Sure, I'd love that," He gazed at her reddening face, "So, how about I pay for dinner and you pay for the movie?"

Leanne blinked at him, slowly digesting what he'd suggested. She pointed at herself, "Me? You sure about that?"

"Yeah, you can tell me all about your cute accent."

"O-Oh."

His dark blue eyes crinkled when he smiled, "Great, so," He pointed down at the glass counter, "I'd like to get that pocket watch with your phone number on the slip please."

Leanne dazedly took out the antique and carefully packaged it. She rang up the till slip and, hesitating only once, wrote her cell phone number down in her neatest handwriting. She passed it over the counter to him and their fingers briefly touched when he took it. He smiled again and started for the door, "Oh, by the way, my name's Kelvin."

**Thank you reading and please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**VI**

Leanne was going through TV channels while she waited for the pizza to bake. She eventually settled for a rerun of a soap opera. She curled up on the couch and stared blankly at the television screen, till she got bored and started looking around April's apartment. It was very cosy, with deep crimson curtains and dull gold carpets and couches. The timer beeped twice and Leanne hurried to the oven. She had just pulled the triple cheese pizza out onto a plate when she heard knocking. She turned off the stove and put the pizza down on the counter, then went to the front door. She stood on tiptoe and peeked through the little hole in the door. There was no one there. Leanne frowned when heard the knocking again. She turned around and slowly walked to the dark window that was opposite the kitchen. As she came closer, she could make out a grinning, green face. She sighed and quickened her pace to unlatch the window and slide it open.

Michelangelo was the first one in; he leapt inside and grabbed Leanne, hugging her tightly, "I missed you so much, Lea!"

"Lea?"

"His new nickname for you," Donnie said, hopping inside. He smiled a greeting at Leanne, before heading to TV. Leo came in next, followed closely by the red masked jerk.

Leanne scowled and crossed her arms over her chest when she caught sight of the last turtle. Her dark look instantly disappeared when she was abruptly hoisted up onto Mikey's shoulder and carried to the kitchen, "Do I smell the glorious smell of glorious pizza?" Leanne found herself giggling and trying to look behind her.

"I only made one. I didn't know you guys would be coming over."

"No prob. We can make more!"

"April asked us to keep you company," Leonardo said, joining them in the kitchen.

Leanne nodded her head, "Mikey," She patted his shell, "Can you put me down? Your shell's starting to dig into my tummy."

Mikey's face fell but he gently lowered her to her feet, "But you were so light."

Leanne smiled and went to the freezer, taking out three more frozen pizzas. She put two pepperoni pizzas in first before slicing up the triple cheese one. She took the plate into the lounge and set it on the coffee table.

It was swarmed by turtles within seconds. Fortunately, Leanne managed to snag a piece and she stood back and watched the four brothers devour the pizza.

"So," She tried to make conversation until the other pizzas were finished, "Who's baby-sitting me tonight?"

Donnie swallowed his mouthful of pizza crust and held up a finger, "I volunteered."

Leanne smiled, "Awesome. I'd much rather have you, than jerk face over there." She nodded towards the red banded turtle. "You don't meditate, do you?"

The 'jerk face' sent her a dirty look, but he continued munching his pizza. Leanne glared back at him.

"Pipsqueak."

"Jerk face."

"Alright, let's change the subject." Leo said.

When the timer beeped Leanne went into the kitchen and came back with two more plates of steaming pizza. These two were also quickly finished.

Leanne huffed, "Gosh, can't you at least leave ONE piece for me?"

"Yer stammering is making you slow, squeaker."

Leanne glowered at 'jerk face'. "It's a nervous habit!" She grabbed one of the couch cushions and hurled it at him. He caught it deftly in one hand and, smirking, threw it back at her. She caught it clumsily with both hands before launching it back at him. She ducked behind Leo before he could send it back. Leonardo crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder at her, "Cool it, Raph."

"She's da one throwing things."

Leanne poked her head out from behind her living shield and stuck her tongue out at him, "Poor Raphie, always getting into trouble with Leo."

His golden eyes simmered as they came to rest on her. He started towards them, "Outta my way Leo."

Leo uncrossed his arms and planted his feet firmly, unmoving. "I said to cool it, Raphael!"

Leanne snickered, "Your name's Raphael? Hm, I think I prefer Raphie."

"Move it, Fearless!"

Raphael tried to shove past his elder brother to get to the taunting girl, but Leo put his hands on his shoulders and kept him at a distance. Leanne grinned and hurried around to the other side of the couch. Raph was after her in a flash; he bounded over the couch. Leanne lost her grin and screamed, running away from the red masked turtle.

Leanne skittered towards the bathroom. When she attempted to lock herself in, Raphael stopped her by grabbing the door with one hand and pushing it open. Leanne gasped as she was roughly seized and dragged further into the bathroom, literally kicking and screaming. She was thrown unceremoniously into the bathtub and held in place by one big hand gripping her calf. With his other hand, Raph turned on the shower head.

The three brothers who stood by the bathroom door watched as Raphael sprayed her with cold water. The room was suddenly full of screams and water jets. Leanne squirmed, trying to get out of his hold, all the while being soaked. She tried to snatch the shower head away from him, but he only tightened his grasp, pulled her closer into the range of fire and aimed the water at her face. Two minutes later, he hung up the shower head and straightened up, smirking victoriously down at a waterlogged Leanne who lay sprawled in the bathtub.

She glared up at him, "Thanks a lot, moron! Now I'm going to get sick from the cold!"

Raphael rolled his eyes, "Just put yer jacket in front of da heater." He scoffed.

Leanne stood up and climbed out the tub, "I can't!"

"And why is that pipsqueak?"

Leanne's cheeks went red, "Because I'm wearing only a white shirt under this jacket!"

"Yer point being?"

Behind him, Donnie's eyes went wide as he realized what that meant. His cheeks darkened and he pulled Mikey away from the door.

Leanne glared her now forest green eyes at Raph, "It's white! It means it's see-through, you dope!"

Raphael's eyes popped and he muttered something about going out before turning on his heel and practically running out the bathroom. Still in the doorway, Leo rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly, "Uh, I'll just get you some of April's clothing."

He disappeared around the door. While he was absent, Leanne stripped off her jeans, shirt and jacket. She had a towel wrapped around herself when Leo came back. His reaction to her near nakedness was hilarious. He froze in the doorway and his silver eyes travelled down, his cheeks darkening the same way Donnie's had. Leanne let out a snort of amusement and moved towards him. Leo looked absolutely frightened when she stopped right in front of him. Smiling nervously, she pulled the clothes out of his hands.

"Leonardo, could you g-get out please? I'd like to change."

Leo snapped out of his daze and quickly left the bathroom, leaving her to dress.

When she came out, Leanne was dressed in jeans that were a bit too long for her and a baggy sweat shirt. She noticed that they were short one turtle. Raph had left.

"What? Did I scare off Raphie?" She asked.

Donnie chuckled, "Nah, I think his brain just had a minor overload."

Leanne smiled and sat down on the couch next to Mikey. For the next hour the four of them snacked on the last pizza and watched an action movie. When April came in, Leanne explained the bathroom situation and April burst into laughter. When Leanne said she was going to start heading home, April gave a suggestion, "Why don't the guys just take you with them? It'd be a lot faster than walking."

Leanne blinked and said, "Turtles have cars?"

April shook her head, laughing, "No, but I'm sure they'd be alright carrying you."

Leanne was curious. So when the turtles said their goodbyes and started sliding out the window, Leanne followed them. They climbed to the rooftop and then the discussion of who was going to carry her came up.

"I wanna!" Mikey hopped from one foot to the other.

Donnie shrugged his shoulders, "I don't mind. She doesn't look close to weighing even a hundred pounds."

Leanne tore her gaze from the stars to look at him, replying the implied question, "Ninety-four pounds."

Leo sighed and moved towards her, "Hop on. The quicker we get back, the quicker I get to my meditation."

"Oh and I wouldn't want to ruin your precious meditation." Leanne said sarcastically.

Leo stopped in front of her with his back to her and Leanne awkwardly wrapped her arms and legs around him. It was difficult with his shell, but eventually Leo held her knees at his waist and hoisted her higher.

"Are you alright up there?" He asked her, looking over his shoulder at her.

Leanne nodded and tightened her legs around his waist, "S-Sure. I'm f-f-fine."

Leo quirked the one side of his mouth into a reassuring smile, "Don't be nervous. I won't let you fall."

"And if he does," Mikey piped, coming to them, "I'll catch you, my dudette in distress."

Then they started running with Leonardo in front. Leanne's breath caught in her throat as they leapt from the rooftop to the next. Her hair blew in the wind at the speed that they were running and Leanne continuously pulled herself closer against Leo's body. When they were opposite Leanne's building, they jumped one at a time onto the fire escape. Leonardo pushed open her window and stepped inside, still carrying her on his back. Donnie switched on her bedroom light and they stood in her bedroom in the new light.

Leo glimpsed over his shoulder and said, "We're here. You can get off now."

The legs around him didn't loosen, neither did the arms around his neck. Mikey laughed and pointed, "Wow, you don't look so good, dudette."

Leanne's hair had been whipped about so much while it'd been wet that it had dried somewhat in a variety of directions. Her face was pale and she was staring straight ahead, unblinkingly.

Leonardo tolerantly pulled her around so that they faced each other with her legs still wound around his waist. He proceeded to unravel her limbs and within a minute he was standing next to a swaying brunette.

"Sure you're ok?" Donnie asked her.

Leanne nodded weakly, "That was r-really high. Way too high."

**Thank you for reading thus far and please leave a review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**VII**

Spending the night with Donnie wasn't as bad as the evening before with Leonardo. Leanne set up a bed against the opposite wall and he'd settled down for the night with a torch and a thick book. The next morning was the same though; Donnie had neatly packed his temporary bed and left without waking her. When Leanne did wake up, it was to her cell phone's ringtone. She looked at it through sleep filled eyes. When she saw that it was a text message, she opened it and her cheeks slowly turned pink.

Gud morning  R U free 2morrow nite? -Kelvin

Leanne texted back quickly, Morning. Yeah, what did U have in mind?

Kelvin's reply arrived seven seconds later, Dinner & movie? -Kelvin

Leanne's smile widened, Sure 

The next message came after a minute of staring at the cell phone, B ready 7. Ill pick U up-Kelvin

Cool, see you tomorrow then

Have a gud day gorgeous -Kelvin

Leanne spent the next hour smiling as she showered, dressed and ate breakfast. By the time she reached the antique store she was grinning. The day passed uneventfully; April was in for the day, so they took turns sitting at the counter or taking stock.

Early evening came and they closed up the store, going up to April's apartment to hang out.

"So, he came in yesterday? And he already called you?" April asked her. They sat together on her couch with hot drinks, discussing Leanne's date.

Leanne blushed, "Well, he didn't call; he texted."

"But still, he contacted you within twenty-four hours. He must be really into you."

"I don't know, but he was really cute." Leanne confessed, blushing. "He was tall and dark and—"

"Handsome?"

"Dreamy!"

April smiled and leaned her head on her hand, "So, what are you going to wear?"

Leanne's mouth dropped open, "I-I don't know. I didn't think that far."

"Are you against any styles?"

"Well," Leanne hesitated before answering, "I don't like stuff that's glam or showy. I prefer comfort."

April nodded in understanding. She stood up and grabbed Leanne's hands, "C'mon, let's find you something to wear."

They were starting towards the bedroom when a knock at the window stopped them. April glanced to it and smiled, "It's open."

The window slid open and four turtles climbed inside. They gave sighs of relief at being out of the cold and the window was shut tight.

Leanne looked over her shoulder at them as they continued to the bedroom, "Do they visit you every night?"

April started rifling through her wardrobe before answering, "Nope, but they probably will now. I asked them to take you home after work from now on."

"Really? And they agreed?"

"Yeah, well, they come out every night to patrol, so it's not like your place is out of the way."

"Oh. Why do they patrol?"

April looked up at her from mounds of clothing, "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Leanne frowned. Was she missing something?

"They're ninjas. They protect people in the city from thugs, rapists and the like."

Leanne's mouth dropped open and she exclaimed in shock, "Huh? I knew they were ripped and that Leonardo does some weird thinking thing, but I didn't know that they were actual ninjas! Do they have swords or those throwing things? Can they do those awesome kicks like in the movies?"

April laughed heartily as she pulled out a knee-length, long-sleeved sapphire dress. She held it up against Leanne and nodded approvingly, "This'll make your hazel eyes look green. And it looks very nice with your cream complexion."

Leanne smiled, "Is cream another word for deathly pale?"

April slapped her shoulder lightly, "You're just very fair. Now, try it on and come show us."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

April joined the turtles in the living room. A few minutes later the bedroom door opened and Leanne tiptoed out, trying not to let the cold get to her bare feet. Five heads turned to look at her, and five heads lost all thoughts of the cooking show they'd been watching.

The dress hugged her mild hourglass figure and, with her walking on her tiptoes, it gave the illusion that she was wearing heels. She stood in front of them uncomfortably, swaying a little.

"Wow," April blinked at her. "You're just… Wow."

Donnie was the first of the guys to say anything. He sat up straight and looked at her, grinning madly, "You look great!"

Michelangelo stared at her like a transfixed puppy and Leanne felt her face heating up again and she looked down at her toes. Her gaze was brought up when she heard someone clear their throat. Leo had stood up and he held out his hand to her. Hesitating, Leanne took hold of the offered hand and squeaked as she was pulled into his plastron. As swiftly as she was pulled close, she was twirled. Her dress flowed out around her legs as she was spun, shimmering and beautiful. Her laughs bubbled as she came to a gentle, gradual stop with her fingers intertwined with Leo's. He smiled at her, silver eyes glittering, "I remember our Sensei seeing that in one of his shows." He said with a bit of embarrassment.

"Not bad, pipsqueak."

Leanne turned to Raphael who hadn't moved from his spot, who was surveying her with a gold gaze. She grinned at him, "Aw, does Raphie really think I look that good?"

Raph smirked and said darkly, "If ya don't wanna repeat what happened yesterday, you should shut it."

Leanne held her hands up in surrender, "That's alright. I could handle being on your good side for two days."

"What's the occasion?" Donnie asked.

Leanne blushed, "I've got a date tomorrow night."

Silence spread among the room, until April stood up, clapping her hands to produce excitement, "Do you have shoes for it?"

"Yeah, I'll put on some pantyhose and I'll try finding my boots with the heels."

"Hold it. You have a date?" Raph broke in.

Leo frowned, "With whom?"

"A guy that came into the shop yesterday," Leanne said.

After obtaining unenthusiastic approval from the turtles and overexcited approval from April, Leanne practically skipped to the bedroom to change. She came back in her normal clothes, reverently holding the sapphire dress.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" April asked.

Leanne shook her head, "Thanks, but I haven't had dinner with my family for ages."

The turtles stood up when she said that and Leanne looked at them in confusion, "You guys don't have to come back with me. Seriously, stay and eat with April."

The brothers exchanged glances then Raphael sighed and, grabbing hold of Leanne's arm, moved her towards the window. "It's my turn to babysit da squeaker. I'll just go back with her now."

Leanne frowned as she realized the mode of transport she'd be taking. She threw her goodnights over her shoulder as she was roughly pulled up the fire escape. Once they were on the roof, Raph turned his shell to her, "Get on."

Leanne made a whining noise in the back of her throat, "B-But it sucks having to jump on the roofs."

Raph growled as he turned to scowl at her. She shrugged her shoulders, "We could walk? Like normal people?" She suggested hopefully.

Leanne watched as Raphael's mouth spread into a sardonic smirk, "Sure, we can walk." He went for her so quickly that she didn't have time to even open her mouth to protest. He grabbed her around her waist and lifted her up onto his shoulder. Leanne wriggled there uncomfortably as he started walking.

"R-Raphael, this isn't cool," She groaned out, her breath leaving her every time Raph moved.

Raph stopped and brought her down in such a way that he held her in one arm, pressed against his side, and her feet dangled off floor.

"You didn't wanna get on my shell, and I ain't gonna carry you like a princess."

Leanne fidgeted, trying to get her feet onto the floor. Raph snickered as she merely succeeded in wriggling against him. His smirk widened at her when she pressed her hands against his plastron and vainly tried to push away from him. "Look, squeaker, either ya get on my shell, or we can walk around like this. I'm good either way."

Leanne stopped her attempts and hung there, held close to his plastron. She frowned thoughtfully at his shoulder before replying, "Fine."

Without another word, Raph slung her around and over onto his back. She slammed rather hardly onto his shell, all the air in her lungs leaving her in one go. She didn't have time to pull her legs up before Raph grabbed them by the knees and brought them up around his waist. Not desiring to fall backwards, she hastily wound her arms around his neck.

They started off at a gentle jog, before Raphael broke into heavy running. Sometime during the trip, Leanne put her mouth close to his ear and said, "Mikey was right, you really are the muscle of the family. Your shoulders look amazing!"

**Hi Zipitnow. LOL, thank you for the zealous review. Just you wait, Leanne's going to show everyone exactly who she is in the next upcoming chapters.**

**Thank you everyone for your reviews. I can't believe I've already got over 15! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and, if possible, please leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**VIII**

Leanne chewed on her food slowly, her eyes glancing back and forth between her father and her brother. The three of them stood around the kitchen, eating in silence.

"Why isn't mom here?" Lukas asked the question that had been nagging on Leanne's mind for the past few minutes.

Their father swallowed and, without raising his eyes, replied in a monotone, "Lillian said she'd be working late today."

The silence spread throughout the room. When he was done, Lukas dropped his plate down on the counter and swaggered down the hallway. Marcus and Leanne stared after him, then Leanne spoke up softly, "I'll do the dishes."

She stacked the plates together and took them to the sink. After a few minutes, she asked, "W-Where is mom really?"

Marcus looked over his shoulder at her and Leanne could see the dejection in his worn face. Putting a small smile on her face, Leanne stood on her tiptoes beside her dad and kissed his cheek. His lips twitched upwards and he sent her a grateful look.

"Go to bed, dad. I'll just finish up here and go to bed."

Marcus dragged himself to his bedroom and Leanne waited until she heard his door close before grabbing a clean plate and piling it high with steamed vegetables and roasted chicken. She carried it to her room where she was greeted by a cocky smirk.

"You're still grinning?" She blinked at Raphael who flexed his arm muscles at her.

Raph's smirk widened, "Yup."

Leanne shook her head in faint amusement, "I'm never complimenting a reptile ever again. They have the biggest egos of anyone I've ever met."

Raphael's smile faded a little, "What's up, squeaker?"

"Nothing. Just f-family stuff," Leanne replied with a forced smile. She passed him the plate before turning to leave, "I'm just going to clean up the kitchen."

She was about to close the door when a green hand pulled it open again. Raph stepped out into the hallway and, after listening for a moment, walked down to the kitchen. Leanne followed behind him, wide eyed.

"You sure you should be out my room?" She found herself whispering at his shell.

She heard him mumble through a mouthful of chicken, "We're cleaning da kitchen, right? I can't cook, but I can clean."

Leanne smiled and grabbed a dish cloth. As she did the last of the dishes, she caught glimpses of Raphael alternating between forkfuls of dinner and wiping down the countertops. They were almost finished when a key turned in the front door. Leanne spun around to warn Raph, but the red masked turtle had already vanished.

Leanne turned back to the door to see her mother coming in. Lillian had her shirt untucked and she smiled a mute greeting at her daughter.

"H-Hey," Leanne's weak welcome fell on deaf ears. Her mother's heels clicked down the hall as she made her way to the bedroom. Leanne sighed and slapped the dishcloth she was holding onto the counter.

"Wow, yer mom is a piece of work," A low voice said behind her.

Leanne glanced over her shoulder. Raphael stood behind her, eyes of steely gold narrowed after the short, dark haired woman who'd left. Leanne stepped away from him and cleared her throat, "Well, we should go to bed."

They hurried quietly past the other bedrooms to Leanne's. She locked it and grabbed her pyjamas, going to the bathroom to change. When she came out, she stopped in the doorway and a smile slowly grew. Giggles burst out of her like hiccups as she lifted a hand to cover her mouth.

"Are you trying to see what you would look like in that dress?"

Raph looked up from his observations of April's sapphire dress against his plastron. He snorted disdainfully and tossed it onto the bed, "Ya shouldn't squeak so much. I can't hear ya proper."

Leanne smirked and crossed her arms, "Maybe you should get D-Donnie to make you a hearing aid. It c-c-ould really improve your hearing disability."

Raph chuckled shortly and brought himself up to his full height, which meant Leanne's head only reached his chin, "Watch it, pipsqueak. Leo ain't here to save ya tonight."

Leanne shrugged and said, "I'm s-sure I could handle you."

The turtle's eyes flashed humorously at her and he took a step forward. Leanne quickly backed up and snatched up the closest thing to her: one of her boots. She lifted it threateningly, but deflated when Raph merely snickered.

It happened in one blink that Leanne found her wrists held together and her back pressed against a hard plastron. She stared bewildered at the big, green hand that enclosed easily over her smaller ones. She frowned and tried to pull them out his grasp. Behind her, Raphael put his head on her shoulder and smirked sideways at her perplexed expression. Carefully, he pressed down hard enough on her wrists to make her drop her makeshift weapon.

Leanne's cheeks burned as she tugged and jerked her arms. Sniggering, Raphael moved his free hand to around her waist and held her still against his plastron.

"Ya sick or something, pip?" Raph breathed into her ear, smirking as he felt heat radiate from her face.

Leanne squirmed, replying with what would be one of her worst stuttering experiences, "I-I'm f-f-fine. Ge-Get o-off! L-Le-Let go!"

Raph leered, "Aw, ya still can't talk proper? Whatta shame."

"I-It's a n-ner-nervous habit!" She defended herself.

He hmm'ed thoughtfully to himself and Leanne felt his grip on her wrists and waist tighten, "So, I make ya feel nervous, then?" He sounded triumphant.

Leanne's face felt so hot that she was sure that it was spreading to the rest of her body. She wriggled and managed to shift so that her foot hooked behind Raph's. With one burst of desperate strength, she pulled Raph's legs out from under him. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. Raph smoothly manoeuvred himself in such a way that he landed on one knee while maintaining his hold on Leanne, dragging her down with him. She found herself face to face with the floor, with Raph hovering over her. He smirked down at her, relishing in this small victory.

"Heheh, so, now what ya gonna do, pip?"

Leanne's face burned with embarrassment. Her parents would be shrieking if they had to see her like this, pressed against the floor between a giant turtle's legs. Her hazel eyes darkened to a brown and she wormed herself around so that she facing Raph. She glared at him and took several moments to steel herself, "… Get t-the hell off of me!" She managed to growl out daintily. She felt pride at only stammering once.

Raph gazed at her for a few seconds before the triumph in his gilt eyes melted. He got up, pulling her along with him and released her once she was steady on her feet. Her face was flushed and she hurriedly went to her bed. She grabbed a pillow and blanket and tossed them at Raph without looking at him in the eye. She wordlessly got into bed and turned her back to him, pulling the cover over her head.

She heard her light click off a few seconds later and curled closer into herself. Clenching her hands together in front of her chest, she took deep breaths in an attempt to cool her blush and bring down the bizarre fever that had swept over her entire body.

After a while in the dark, she heard Raph mumble, "What's so great about this Kevin guy?"

Leanne took a calming breath before answering, "Its Kelvin. He seems l-like a nice guy. He's really cute and really nice."

From the darkness came a snort, "Yeah, he sounds _really _nice."

Leanne didn't say anything.

**Thank you for all the feedback sent thus far and please leave a review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**IX**

Leanne woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache; she hadn't been able to fall asleep until a certain red masked visitor had quietly left. When he did, she'd uncurled herself and let herself fade away to the comfort slumber brought her. It was Saturday, so she hadn't needed to go to the store. Instead, she dressed warmly and grabbed a breakfast bar before heading out to explore the city. This would be their third week in New York and Leanne still hadn't had any chances of looking around yet.

After walking about for about half an hour, Leanne found herself in Central Park. Despite it being in the middle of winter, the park was absolutely gorgeous. The grass was pale yellow and the trees were bare. The water was even rimmed with a thin layer of ice. Leanne sat down on one of the benches and looked around. There weren't that many people; a few were walking dogs and a handful were having an early lunch break. There was even a couple having a stroll with their two toddlers. Leanne smiled at them as they passed by. She couldn't remember ever taking a walk with her parents.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?"

Leanne was pulled out of her thoughts by a husky voice. She glanced up and smiled lopsidedly, "H-Hi, Kelvin!"

The dark haired man's lips were turned upwards teasingly, "Is that seat taken?" he asked, nodding at the open space next to her.

Leanne blushed and shook her head, "Ah, g-go ahead."

Kelvin plopped down next to her and started a conversation, "So, are we still on for tonight?"

Leanne nodded again, not trusting herself to answer. Kelvin grinned, "It's a bit chilly, so wear something warm tonight. Until then," he wound an arm around her, enjoying it as her face reddened further, "I'll just have to do. Good thing I'm hot blooded, huh?"

Leanne gave a short giggle and looked up at him, "W-What are you d-d-doing here?" She asked him.

Kelvin shrugged one shoulder, "I like the park. It's calming."

They spoke for almost an hour before Kelvin pulled her to her feet and towed her to a coffee shop a block away. They got a corner booth and ordered tea and coffee. All the while, Kelvin kept a firm arm around her shoulders. Leanne was grateful for the extra warmth from the coolness of the winter day, but she'd never been so physically close to anyone she'd just met a few days ago (not including the night before with Raph of course). It made her feel a little nervous and she found herself stammering more frequently.

"Do your parents know about our date?"

Leanne nodded, "Yeah, t-they're f-fine with it."

Kelvin gathered her closer to him and looked at her with concern, "What's wrong? You're looking blue."

"J-Just some f-fa-family problems at home, no-nothing to worry about," she said.

Kelvin cocked his head to the side, "Oh, I've been there. I was pretty bummed when my parents divorced—"

Leanne pulled away, "M-My parents aren't getting d-divorced." She said firmly.

The dark haired man shrugged again, "Yeah, I thought that too. But then the lawyers got involved and it got real messy—"

"They are not getting a divorce." Leanne insisted. She narrowed her eyes when Kelvin merely nodded with an unbelieving, sympathetic expression on his face.

"They're not!"

Leanne yanked herself out from under his arm and stood up. She threw down a bill to pay for her tea and started for the door. She was brought to a halt when her arm was caught and she turned to glare with flashing green eyes at Kelvin. He smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Are we still on for tonight?"

Leanne gaped at him for moment before shoving him away from her and retorting, "You seem to like corny, Kevin—" He broke in, "It's Kelvin." Leanne snapped at him, "So, let me break it down for you… N-O!"

With that she spun on her heel and marched out the coffee shop, ignoring the weird glances and encouraging grins aimed at her.

Leanne stormed down the street in the crisp air, glaring at everything that dared to be in her way. After stalking around in a stupor of rage, she found herself standing outside the antique store. She sighed and shook her head before opening the front door.

"I can't believe I'm coming in to work on my first day off." She grumbled to herself as she stepped out of the cold. She froze when she saw April standing behind the counter with a tall, long haired man. They seemed to be arguing about something, but when they heard the bell when Leanne came in, they both looked at her. Leanne jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, "I'm j-just gonna go." She started backing up, but April smiled at her, "No, no. I didn't know you were coming by. You can go up to the apartment. I'll be with you in a minute. Just taking out the trash," She looked pointedly at the man when she said the last sentence.

Leanne nodded uncertainly but hurried past them. Inside April's place, Leanne sat uncomfortably on the armrest of her couch, her arms crossed and frowning at her feet. April came up a few minutes later. She wearily sat down and huffed, "I'll never be able to handle that man. Casey really knows how to push my buttons."

Leanne didn't say anything. April noticed and began to formulate a plan. Wordlessly, she got up and went to the kitchen. She came back with an enormous bar of chocolate. She broke it in half and passed her a piece. Leanne felt a smile tug unwilling at her lips and she took it appreciatively.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Leanne nibbled on her chocolate, "I don't really want to."

"But I gave you chocolate."

"Yes, and it tastes really good."

"Leah!"

Leanne looked up sharply, "Since when does everyone call me Leah?"

April smiled, "Since Mikey became fond of you. If he could, I'm sure he'd adopt you."

Leanne frowned and moved to sit next to her, "Besides Mikey and Donnie, men suck!" She announced.

"Why is that?"

"… Kelvin said that my parents were getting divorced."

April's smiled disappeared and she asked softly, "Are they?"

"No! O-Of course not!" Leanne clenched her hands together on her lap, then loosened them, "But he'd know, wouldn't he? H-H-He said his parents got a d-divorce."

Leanne cringed when April put a light arm around her and hugged her, "Don't worry about it too much, ok? Whether it happens or not, it won't be your fault."

Leanne pulled away after a while, nodding, "Well, it's not like anything is going to happen tonight, with my parents and Kelvin." April bit her lip in thought, then spoke up, "How about you stay over tonight? We can sit around and watch movies."

It took a good while of attempted puppy faces and reasoning for Leanne to reluctantly agree. She called her dad to let him know that she wouldn't be coming home and then April came up with an absurd idea of getting dressed up for dinner.

Leanne whined, "But why? Can't we just wear pyjamas?"

April chided her, "No! You're not going out on your date, but who said you had to go on a date to dress nicely. I can lend you another dress and, ONLY AFTER, will I give you pyjamas."

The two young women went to April's room and Leanne let the red head hold articles of clothing against her. She finally chose a silky charcoal dress that hung off the shoulders. Leanne changed into it with a distasteful grimace. She strapped on a pair of heels that April had thrown at her and wobbly stood up. April nodded approvingly. The red head had put on a deep crimson dress that reached her knees and had cap sleeves.

They spent the next hour wobbling around the kitchen making dinner. They cooked up some beef patties and cut up lettuce and tomato; then they sat in front of the TV with yummy smelling burgers. Sometime after eleven, a tap at the window announced the arrival of the turtles. Leanne self-consciously pulled the limp sleeves over her shoulders.

Mikey bounded to the couch, flipping over it and landing between the two women, "Hey, dudes, look! I'm irresistible to the ladies." To prove his point, the grinning turtle spread his arms behind April and Leanne.

Leonardo smiled a greeting before bringing up a sore topic, "What happened to your date, Leanne?"

Leanne didn't look him in the eye as she answered, "Uh, di-didn't w-work out."

Behind him, Raphael snorted and Leanne could feel his gold gaze on the back of her head.

"Yer too young to be dating anyways," He said loudly.

Leanne turned to kneel against the back of the couch, retorting,, "I'm seventeen!"

"Exactly! Too young."

"How old are you then?" Leanne shot back. Raph poked her forehead and smirked at the angry look that appeared, "I'm nineteen, soon to be twenty."

"That's o-only two years difference!" She batted his finger away, glaring.

Leo lightly pushed Raphael away, "Leave her alone, would you? She's had a bad night."

Leanne turned her fiery gaze onto him, "No, actually I didn't have a bad night. A-April made it a pretty great night, until that jerk face thought he should act like a smart ass."

Raphael's eyes hardened and he caught the front of her dress, pulling her over the back of the couch. April protested, "Don't break the dress!"

"It's not da dress I'll be breaking," He growled out, his face close to Leanne's.

**Thanks for reading. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update for the next week; I'm going away for a while.**


	10. Chapter 10

**X**

Leanne was sure that if she were an anime character she'd be face palming right now. It was almost three in the morning and she was squished on the couch between Michelangelo and Donatello, still in the too formal dress that April had given her. Mikey had fallen asleep during the last movie – a chick flick that Leanne loathed. The youngest turtle had shifted so that his one leg was thrown over Leanne's lap and his arms were uncomfortably tight around her shoulders. His head was using hers as a pillow, making her neck tilt painfully.

On her other side, Donnie had gone to sleep with his head back, mouth open and snoring; a book was placed over his eyes. At her feet lay Raphael; he was splayed out on the floor, deep snores rumbling in the dark. She wasn't sure where Leo was.

She stared stoically at the flickering television screen. Unblinkingly, she wriggled out of Mikey's limbs and clambered over Raph. She looked around the dark room, disorientated, and could make out a recognizable shape by the window.

Leanne made her way towards the bedroom, where she knew April was sleeping in her double bed. She was halfway across the room when her heel caught on the end of the carpet. She fell forward quietly, not making a sound. Maybe watching TV for eight consecutive hours really does make you a zombie. The floor was quickly coming closer to meet her face.

"Why do you wear those things? They don't do anything special." A pair of hands stopped her fall by catching her shoulders. Leanne raised her head slowly from her staring competition with the floor. Silver eyes watched her carefully as she pulled herself away.

"T-They make a girl's butt look g-good," Leanne muttered, scowling at him.

Leonardo cocked his head to the side, "But they don't do anything else. You wouldn't be able to fight anyone off, let alone walk properly. Besides, your butt looks fine."

The two looked blankly at each other, then Leanne's face reddened. She moved completely out of his grasp and mumbled, "… Y-Your brother drooled on me."

Leo grimaced and straightened up, pulling Leanne with him.

"Maybe you should go to bed."

"I was already on my way," Leanne said, scowling. She moved around him to the bedroom where she was quick to discard her dress. She had to grope in the dark for a pair of comfortable clothes and pulled them on before slipping into a small space on the bed beside April.

The next morning came grey, cold and deserted. Leanne spent breakfast at the window, watching snow fall.

April joined her with two mugs of tea. "You seem fascinated by the snow," She said, handing her one mug.

Leanne smiled tiredly, "I've only seen snow once. And I was only ten at the time."

After eating they cleared the dishes and huddled under a blanket on the couch together. April had taken out some old beauty magazines and they were rifling through them, occasionally finding small gifts. Leanne pulled out a tiny plastic bottle of perfume. She opened it and sniffed it.

"Is it any good?"

Leanne nodded, smiling a little, "Yeah, its sweet, sort of b-berry like."

April leaned over and took a whiff. She wrinkled her nose and said, "You can keep it if you like it."

Leanne nodded again and put it to the side.

"I was wondering," April continued, "How would you like to have some company for the next few weeks?"

"Hm?"

"I'm going to Egypt to look at some relics from a merchant I know. So, I'll be away for a while. But I got an e-mail from an old friend of mine this morning and he asked if I would look after his daughter for a while."

Leanne looked up from another magazine, "How are you going to look after his daughter if you're at Egypt?"

April grinned apologetically, "Well, I might have told him that I have a responsible, hard-working assistant who wouldn't mind earning a little extra money."

Leanne was deep in thought for a minute, then she replied, "Have I met her?"

Leanne yelped as she was playfully whacked on the head. April shook her head in amazement, "I was talking about you."

"Oh."

"She's not that much younger than you, so it's not like you have to babysit her."

"Uh… p-people don't like me."

"You'll be fine. You just have to keep her entertained."

Leanne held back protests and reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you so much! Sam said he'd call you tomorrow morning to arrange things with you."

"You gave him my number?" Leanne gave her a dirty look that April dismissed immediately.

"Believe me, Leah, the pay will be worth it. He's one of my best clients."

Leanne hid her grimace behind a magazine.

It was close to dinnertime when Leanne left. She walked home briskly and arrived to an empty house. She clicked on the lights and stopped when she caught sight of a pile of boxes and wrapped furniture pieces. She went to her bedroom and blinked at the familiar bed and dresser.

She grabbed her pyjamas and went into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she came out with her hair dripping down the back of her bathrobe. She went to the kitchen and began on dinner. Her dad came home just as she was taking out the baked spicy chicken.

Marcus' face was weary and almost as grey as the sky outside. He kicked off his shoes and joined her in the kitchen.

"How was the sleepover?" He asked, picking on some fried chips.

Leanne shrugged and replied, "The food was good. Work?"

"The tea was good."

They exchanged blank looks, then both broke into weak smiles.

"Where's Lukas?"

"He met some boys." Was the simple answer.

They ate supper by themselves. Afterwards, Leanne kissed her father's cheek and closed herself in her bedroom. She made an attempt at rearranging her bedroom, but gave it up when she couldn't move her dresser more than an inch at a time. Then she tried reading some of her school textbooks from her old school. About six minutes later she was going through the bathroom into her brother's room. He would always let her borrow his laptop when she needed it for school projects; he wouldn't mind if she watched a few episodes of CSI.

At first, Leanne couldn't see the laptop under the mounds of crumpled shirts and dirty socks. She pushed over a few piles with her toe, but she finally had to go to his boxes that he had stacked untidily in a corner. She moved towards them and started going through them. She found nothing in the first two boxes. After opening the third, she gleefully pulled out the sleek, navy blue laptop. As she pulled out the cords, her hazel eyes caught sight of white and orange. She put down the laptop and bent over the box. She groped around until her fingers touched something in the shape of a cylinder.

She pulled it out. It was a pill container, halfway filled with round yellow and orange pills. Leanne frowned and brought it up to her face. She examined the label and frowned when she couldn't see any name or prescription.

She popped the lid off and tipped out a few of the brightly coloured pills. They were quite big. Leanne frowned; Lukas hated taking pills as much as she did. Why would he have medication stuffed in one of his packing boxes?

She stashed three of the pills into the pocket of her robe and tucked the container back into the box, replacing Lukas' laptop.

She went back to her room and closed the door, throwing the bedroom into darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

**XI**

Leanne lay in bed for a while, turning one of the pills she'd found in Lukas' bedroom over and over. It looked similar to a chewable vitamin C tablet. She brought it close to her nose and sniffed it. She frowned, then, stuck out her tongue to lick it…

Tap tap… Tap tap tap…. TAP TAP!

Leanne squeaked and dropped the pill, her eyes wide with fright. She looked at her bedroom window. A green face gave her a toothy grin as she got up and opened the window. Michelangelo hopped inside and swept her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"I missed you sooo much!" He exclaimed with an exaggerated pouting lip and watery eyes.

Leanne felt all the air in her lungs leave her and her organs protest in pain. Mikey seemed to notice her silence and dropped her hastily. Leanne put a hand on her stomach, trying to regain the air she'd lost, "Y-You… just saw… me… a couple hours ago." She said between deep breaths.

Mikey merely smiled wider, "I almost didn't get a turn to babysit you. But I got Leo to change his mind." He said triumpantly.

"How'd you do t-that?" To her, someone like Leo reconsidering his decision seemed very unlikely.

"I told him Raph molested you and that you wanted some good loving from me!"

Leanne sent him a annoyed look and turned away from him. With the orange masked turtle rambling on about his top thirty-five video games, Leanne made up a bed for him. She'd unpacked another box in which she'd found some more fleece blankets.

"Hey, dudette, this your furniture?"

Leanne looked over her shoulder to see Mikey lying on her bare bed frame with an uncomfortable expression on his face. She held back giggles and grabbed two blankets.

"Yeah, it looks like they dropped off all our furniture yesterday while I was out. I haven't had time to put it all together though."

Mikey scratched his chin and said, "If you want, we can help you out with it tomorrow night?"

Leanne smiled gratefully, "That'd be great actually. Are you sure your brothers won't mind?"

"Nah, they like hanging out with you."

A little while later, Mikey and Leanne had pulled her mattress off the floor and put it on the bed frame. The youngest turtle had pulled his own make-shift bed too so that it was next to Leanne's. When both of them were lying down and Leanne was just starting to feel drowsy, she heard Michelangelo ask her, "Leah? Are you sick?"

Leanne rolled onto her side to look down at him. His baby blue eyes were filled with concern.

"N-No. Why do you ask?"

"'Cause I found this under your mattress."

He held up a round, yellow pill between two green fingers. Leanne forced a reassuring smile and held out her hand to take it from him, "I'm n-not sick. I-It's j-j-just some v-vitamins I h-ha-have been t-taking. Y-You know, because it's s-so cold?"

The concern disappeared and Mikey nodded understandingly, "Ah! I thought so!"

They chatted for a little while longer before the light was clicked off once again and they lapsed into sleepy silence.

Leanne faintly heard Mikey disappearing out her window the next morning. She gave him a mumbled goodbye and burrowed deeper under her sheets; but less than an hour later she was woken up by a persistent buzzing.

Bzzt… Bzzzt… Bzzzt…

She considered leaving her phone to buzz to itself under her pillow. A second later she changed her mind. She pulled her phone to her ear and groggily answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Is this Leanne?"_

"Y-Yes."

"_Ah, good morning! My name is Samuel Summerlin. I was given your details by April O'Neil. She told you briefly what it is I'm calling about, I presume?"_

"Y-Yes?"

"_I've been told you have an exceptional character so I hope you may be able to assist me. My daughter is in a private school and is finishing her senior year. Recently, however, she has been behaving quite rebelliously and her grades have been slipping. Unfortunately she will not speak to me about her troubles. I requested Ms. O'Neil's help because she and my daughter got along well when Diane was younger. Because she is unavailable, I was told that you would be able to care for my daughter. She is currently on school break and will be ready to leave for New York at any moment. You will act as her friend, provider, caregiver and bodyguard. In return your pay will be 5500 dollars. Of course, if this is unsatisfactory, it can be negotiated."_

Leanne had lost her voice somewhere in the conversation. There was no sound for four seconds, then she caught herself and replied as intelligently as she could, "U-Uh… Uh huh."

"_Excellent! Now, if you would be so kind as to give me your address and details?"_

Leanne gave him the information he wanted and they hung up after another ten minutes of speaking. She weakly went over their conversation in her mind, then a smile grew on her lips and she found herself giggling.

"5500 dollars? Joh!"

She couldn't go back to sleep after that phone call and she got up to take a long, steamy shower. She came out of the bathroom wearing multiple layers of leggings and sweaters. She pulled on a pair of warm, bulky boots and went out to the kitchen.

Leanne noted to herself that she hadn't heard her mother come in the previous night and her dad was still in bed. She left the seemingly empty condo and, on her way to the antique store, went past a coffee shop to pick up a creamy hot chocolate and a mini raspberry pie. She finished the last bite of her pie as she was entering the store.

April stood at the counter, her red hair sleeked back into a ponytail and her suitcase at her feet. Leanne offered her some of her beverage and they shared the last of the hot chocolate.

"When will winter end?" Leanne asked as April drained the rest of the plastic cup's contents.

"Not for another month at least," April replied.

"That sucks. When's your plane leaving?"

"This evening; I'm going to leave the shop around three," April said, "Did Sam get hold of you?"

"Yeah, really early this morning, in fact."

"And?" Her boss prodded her for information.

"His kid will be coming in on Wednesday night and she'll be spending her break here."

"And the pay?"

Leanne widened her eyes for emphasis, "Big."

April laughed, "I told you so! If you want, I can arrange with Casey to help you out on some days."

"Who is Casey?"

"Remember the bum that was in the store a while back? Tall, big buffoon with much too long hair?"

"Oh. Um, I think I'll be fine by myself."

**Examinations are starting soon for me, so I won't be able to update as much as I'd like to. Apologies!**


	12. Chapter 12

**XII**

In her room, the night before having to pick up her guest, Leanne was gently swaying to a song that was playing on her cell phone. She mouthed along with it, singing aloud to the chorus only.

"All the things we should've said that are never said, all the things we should've done that we never did, all the things we should've given, but I didn't, oh darling—"

"Wow, have you dudes ever heard anything so sad," Leanne yelped as she was grabbed from behind and crushed against a hard chest. She looked over her shoulder and smiled up at Michelangelo. His brothers were climbing through her window behind him.

"I like this song." Leanne said as she disentangled herself from his arms and went to switch off the song.

"Why? Mikey's right; it does sound a little bit on the depressed side." Leonardo said as he shut the window, preventing the cold night air from getting inside.

"Because."

Raphael crossed his arms and looked around the bedroom. The furniture and boxes were all over the place. He grumbled loudly, "I thought we were just movin' stuff around. I ain't cleaning up after ya."

Leanne sent a hazel glare his way and he smirked.

"Well," She said in an annoyed tone, crossing her own arms, "If Mr. Bravo can't handle moving a few boxes, then why doesn't he just go back to the gym."

Raph scowled darkly, "You implying something, pipsqueak?" He started towards her. Leanne abruptly stepped backwards, her cheeks going pink. When he was barely a step away from her she quickly brought her hand up. Her palm slapped weakly against his plastron, bringing him to a halt.

They exchanged glances, hers of surprise and his of amusement, and Leanne quickly brought her hand down, "I-I'm sorry." She hastily moved around him to stand next to Donnie. Donatello grinned reassuringly down at her, "So, where should we start?"

Minutes later they were all moving her furniture around. Leanne's dad wasn't home yet, and her mother had taken to staying at the office overnight and Lukas was over at a friend's; so they didn't need to worry about being heard. With the four turtles helping her, the moving went by very quickly with few incidences.

"I think I preferred the bed in the other corner," Leanne said, tapping her lips with her index finger. She heard groans from Mikey and Raph as they picked up her bed frame and moved it across the room again.

Leanne smiled gratefully and backed out of the room as Leonardo went past, holding her desk on his shoulder. She went to the kitchen and took out a tray, loading it with plates of pizza which she'd put in the oven a while before. She was welcomed back enthusiastically.

"Just don't mess on my blankets," She warned Mikey, who'd grabbed a slice and had plopped down onto her bed. She grabbed three slices of a mushroom pizza and sat on the window ledge. From there she watched the pizza disappear. It was while they were arguing about who got the last slice that Leanne's cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"_Oh, Leanne! I'm so glad I got hold of you."_

"Mom?" The turtles became quiet.

"_Yes, I was hoping to call you earlier, but I lost track of time," _Leanne frowned when she heard deep chuckling in the background, _"Could you make dinner for you and your brother tonight? I won't be home tonight."_

Her grip on her phone tightened, "But you haven't been home in ages… And Lukas is at a friend's."

"_Oh. I know, work has been hectic lately. But I'll see you tomorrow perhaps."_

Leanne got up and left her room, ignoring the turtles' watchful eyes.

"That's what you said last Sunday. D-Dad's getting w-wo-worried that you're overworking yo-yourself—"

"_Sure he is. Look, Leanne, I was just asking if you could do me this favour, but apparently I can't. I suppose you just aren't as grown up or mature as you always seem to pretend to be."_

"You're the one that is too scared to come h-home!" Leanne found herself almost screaming from frustration. "If you're that unhappy with d-dad, then d-do-don't be a c-coward!"

"… _Leanne, when you see your father tell him that I'll be away on business for the next week. I'm sure even you can do that."_

Click.

Leanne stood there in the hallway, her knuckles white from gripping the phone, her eyes wide and unfocussed. Then she blinked once, twice. A sudden wave of rage washed over her and she pulled her arm back and hurled her phone across the hallway. It smashed against the kitchen counter and came to rest in a bunch of jumbled pieces on the tiles.

"Hey! You ok?"

A large hand closed over her shoulder and spun her around. Raphael searched her furious face as his brothers joined them in the hallway.

Leo took hold of her other arm and examined it for any breaks, "Did you fall?"

"No."

Leanne tugged herself away from them. She watched from the corner of her eye as Don moved towards her shattered phone. He crouched down and picked up the pieces. He came back to them and gave her a weak smile, "Maybe she had a bad day at work?"

"No."

Donnie's eyes were warm and his words gentle as he said, "I could fix this. It's really easy."

Leanne shrugged. She saw Mikey's baby blues watching her and she tried to lighten up, "I don't really mind. It's not like anyone I want to speak with will be calling. I think," She began, quickly tiring of the concerned looks she was getting, "I'm going to go for a bath."

She ducked past them and slammed the bathroom door closed behind her. She turned the taps on full and sat down on the toilet seat. As steam filled the room, she felt her chest constrict and her eyes beginning to burn.

She wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't cry. Not with all of the turtles outside.

Even with the taps gushing water out noisily, she heard her phone being played with. A song made its way into the bathroom.

_Oh darlin', make it go away now, just make it go away_

Hot tears started pushing their way out of the corners of her eyes. She jumped when someone knocked at the door. Before she could move off the toilet seat, the door opened a crack.

"Are you still dressed?" Leo asked from behind the door.

Leanne swallowed and wiped her hands across her face, "Y-Yeah."

He opened the door a little wider and poked his head inside, holding her bath towel. He abruptly froze when he saw the tampered tear tracks on her face. Leanne swallowed again and forced a tiny smile. They looked at each for four seconds, then Leanne crumpled under his knowing silver gaze. She brought her legs up to her chest and buried her face into her knees, sobbing. Leonardo slipped inside the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He dropped the towel onto the floor as he walked towards her. He crouched down in front of her and awkwardly put his arms around her, pulling her under his chin.

They sat like that for a while. Even after she quieted, Leonardo could still feel her shaking and hear muffled sniffs. Eventually, they had to separate because the bath tub threatened to overflow. Leo turned off the taps, sat down on the edge of the tub and watched as Leanne grabbed wads of toilet paper and dried her bloodshot hazel eyes.

"T-Thanks," She murmured thickly.

Leo nodded quietly, then said, "I'll get rid of the guys while you get ready for bed." And he stood up and left the bathroom.

Leanne eventually detached herself from the toilet seat. She undressed and stepped into the tub. The water was too hot, scalding even, for her skin. But she sat there until it became lukewarm. Then she got out and dried off. Disorientated, she searched the bathroom for her pyjamas until she remembered that she hadn't brought them in with her. She felt vague frustration, then shook it out of her head. Leo said he'd get rid of the turtles. She wrapped the towel that Leo had brought her securely around herself, then opened the door. Steam flowed out the bathroom and into the bedroom. The only light on was the bedside lamp that they'd unpacked that very day. She stumbled towards her bed, tripping on something that was on the floor next to her bed. She felt a faint touch on her bare shoulder, steadying her, but it disappeared quickly. Barely thinking about it, she threw herself on her bed and curled up around her pillow.

A minute later a blanket was pulled over her and she opened her eyes a fraction to see a pair of pearly eyes above her. Another blanket was put over her, this time it was tucked around her feet and throat.

She lay in her cocoon for hours. She heard her dad come home and go to his bedroom. She couldn't hear it, but she knew Leo was prowling around her room. Sometime in the night, when she'd unwillingly shivered, another blanket was put over her. This continued until Leanne fell asleep. She woke up close to noon and got up slowly and painfully. Her nose was stuffy and her whole body ached. She looked down at the makeshift bed that she'd made next to her own. Its blankets were gone. Looking back at her own bed, she saw that Leonardo had actually given her his bedding throughout the night.

She took a long shower, only remembering that she had to be at work after half an hour. She dressed into an unattractively baggy, black tracksuit and sneakers before taking off towards the antique store. It was after one in the afternoon when she opened the store.

It turned out to be a slow day. There was only one customer who irritated Leanne so much that she merely stared mutely at him until he got creeped out enough to give her twenty dollars and back out of the shop. Nearing six o'clock, Leanne found herself standing zombie-like behind the counter, mentally singing a song about murdering Santa Clause. She dragged herself around the building, locking up the store and going up to April's apartment. She sat down on the couch and stared at the TV screen until she realised that she hadn't put it on. A few hours later, there was a knock at the window. Leanne didn't budge. She'd left that window open, knowing that they would be coming.

The turtles filed in and stood in front of her.

"I can't see the TV." She said in a monotone.

Raphael snorted, "Looks like ya've been watching too much TV. Ya've got the red eyes and dead look down."

"Raph," Leo hissed warningly, glaring at him.

Raph shrugged and observed her with an arrogant smirk.

"You're an asshole."

The smirk faltered and four pairs of eyes gazed at her.

"What ya say, pipsqueak?"

Hazel eyes flashed dark brown, "I said you got your ugly head so far up your ass that—"

Before anyone could do anything, Raph had grabbed the front of her tracksuit jacket and had jerked her up off the couch. There were protests from his brothers who immediately came to her aid. Leo and Don grabbed Raph's arms to get him to release her and Mikey had his arms around Leanne's waist to catch her if Raph had to throw her.

Amber eyes blazed as Raph growled, "Lookie, the squeaker actually can talk without s-stammering."

"It's a frickin' nervous habit, dumbass!" Leanne snarled back, her fingers clawing at his hands. She swung her legs to kick him. Raph caught her calf, "What da shell is wrong with ya?!"

Leanne squirmed and wriggled as she unzipped the jacket and slipped out of it. She fell in an ungracious heap with only a white tank top on and barely took a moment's thought to tackle Raphael's knees. She and the turtles rolled around on the floor as Leanne attempted to strangle Raph. Leo was the first to get back on his feet and he stood over Leanne and Raph. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist and tried to pull her off of his brother, but Raph took that moment to switch their positions. Leanne's eyes widened briefly then closed as she was slammed into the floor with Raph on top of her, his knees pressing her arms down. There was an uncomfortable silence, then a chorus of rage filled voices spoke at the same time.

"Raph!

"Get off of her!"

"I told ya I wasn't scared of beating ya!"

"Raphael!"

Leanne opened her eyes slowly and was instantly hit with a pounding headache. Even though her vision swam, she managed to lock her eyes onto Raph's amber ones. Then a familiar prickling feeling in the back of her eyes became known. With Raph restraining her arms, she wasn't able to wipe away her tears this time. She watched blurrily as the red masked turtle's face transformed into one of concern.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean to hurt ya…"

Leanne fought to not let her lips wobble the way she knew they did when she cried. Just then, she heard her cell phone buzz. Everyone's eyes were drawn to Donnie who looked confused for a minute, before pulling out her newly fixed phone. He checked the message and looked up at the strange sight before him.

"Uh… April just wanted… wanted to know… if… you'd… picked up that… girl you were supposed… to be picking up… an hour ago…."

The reactions of his statement were comical. Leanne's mouth dropped open, her eyes widened and her tears stopped in their tracks. On top of her, Raph was looking sideways at Donnie, confused. Above them, restraining Mikey from pouncing on Raphael, Leo was silently glancing between Donnie and Leanne.

Then Leanne screamed hysterically.

"Get off, get off, GET OFF!"

Raph tumbled off of her as she leapt up and took off towards the stairs. Just as she was about to rush through the door, she was grabbed from behind and lifted up into the air. She felt someone jam her shoes onto her socked feet and another person speaking urgently to her.

"Ok, hail a taxi when you get to main street. Tell them to wait when you get to the airport."

Leanne nodded dumbly, still scrambling to get out of the store. She was stuffed into one of April's coats and then pushed out into the night.

**Thank you for all the reviews that you've taken the time to type thus far. I hope you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**XIII**

"What the hell do you mean 'you don't know her plane'?" Leanne almost shrieked.

The uniformed man looked distressed as he tried to calm her down, but her shaking fists that were gripping the front of his blazer wasn't helping him. "I-I told you before. You need to give me a n-name or at least the flight she was on before I can tell you whether or not she arrived."

While Leanne's face fell, her hazel eyes became more maniac, "I can't remember the frickin' name!"

"I-I a-a-apologise!"

"My tutor told me only people with small minds or a limited vocabulary use foul language…"

Leanne snapped around, really to blast out a string of curses at the uninvited commenter. She stopped short quickly when she found herself looking at a girl, slightly younger and shorter than herself, with murky grey eyes and shoulder length brown hair. She had a pretty face with high cheekbones and a pale complexion. Her slender figure adorned a pair of tight jeans and a stylish trench coat with heeled boots. Her mouth was turned downwards into an ugly and unforgiving scowl. Two large suitcases stood next to her.

Leanne slowly unclenched her fingers from the man's front and turned to fully face the newcomer.

"Uhh… Y-You're Dina?" She asked in an awed, quiet voice.

"Diane."

"O-Oh, sorry."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Diane narrowed her grey eyes, "Aren't you going to ask me how my flight was? It's only polite."

"Y-Yeah, how w-was it?"

"Unspeakable. Terrible seat, awful service, and the food was even worse."

Leanne nodded dumbly, eyes wide. This was going so well, she thought.

"Um, we should, uh, go to the t-taxi."

"Very well." Diane said curtly, and she turned and started towards the exit, leaving her suitcases where they were. Leanne glanced from Diane's bags to her leaving form, then quickly grabbed the handles and ran after her.

Diane stopped just outside the exit and looked around, looking irritated. When Leanne reached her, she led the way to the waiting taxi and put Diane's suitcases in the boot. They sat in a chilly silence the entire way to the condo and when they arrived, Dianne surveyed the building while Leanne struggled to take her bags out the boot. Once upstairs and in Leanne's room, Dianne walked around, her heels clicking. Her scowl seemed to deepen further, if it was possible, with distaste.

"This is your room?"

"Y-Yeah."

"There's only one bed," The brunette said shortly, "I don't do floors or sharing."

"T-That's ok! You can have the bed! I don't mind."

Diane nodded mutely and walked into the bathroom. Leanne stiffly put her bags next to the bed and waited until her guest came back. This time, her face didn't look worse, but it definitely didn't look any better.

"I'm tired." She announced.

"Me too. Y-You can use the bathroom first if you want."

Wordlessly, Diane took hold of one of her suitcases and rolled it into the bathroom. The door was shut for almost an hour before Diane came out. By that time, Leanne had decided to just change in the room. She'd set up the same mattress and blankets that she had done for the turtles, but in the farthest corner away from the bed. She lay in it, eyes still wide and breathing unevenly.

Diane's pyjamas looked too formal to be for sleeping. She wore a royal blue, silk pyjama set with a matching robe and brand name slippers. Her hazelnut brown hair was pulled back into a small, neat braid. She got into Leanne's bed carefully, almost as if she expected something to jump out at her. Once in, she made a lot of noise as she moved around in an effort to get comfortable. Then she clicked off the light and yanked them both into an icy darkness.

Leanne didn't sleep well that night. She found herself wondering how the guys had ever managed to sleep on her floor. It was so uncomfortable! And while she was used to sharing her room with one of them, it felt so entirely different and awkward to be having a girl her own age staying with her. Then she started thinking about how much she wished that Leonardo or Michelangelo or Donatello or even Raphael was with her.

The next morning, she was woken up by her bedroom light being turned on. She squinted and groaned. It was still dark outside!

Diane was sitting up in bed and had picked up one of Leanne's school textbooks. She spoke up after a minute of reading, "I covered this material two years ago. Your school must have had many underachievers to be so behind in the syllabus."

Leanne held back a retort and pulled her blankets over her head, trying to force herself back to sleep. Five minutes later, she tossed her blankets aside and got up. She went around her room to pick out her clothes. Just as she was about to go into the bathroom she was stopped by Diane saying in an innocent voice, "Oh, I was hoping to bath this morning. But, I suppose, since you're already up…"

Leanne stiffly let go of the doorknob and turned around, pulling on a tight smile, "Go ahead."

Diane got out of bed slowly, taking her time as she collected her things and leisurely walked past her host. "You'll be making breakfast then?" She asked over her shoulder, but she closed the bathroom door without waiting for an answer. Leanne clenched and unclenched her fingers, breathing deeply. Once she was sure that she wouldn't swear at thin air, she pulled on a jacket and went out to the hallway.

It seemed Lukas had stayed the night yet again with some friends of his and her dad was still sleeping. Leanne moved around the kitchen, pulling out dishes and bowls and ingredients. A while later she had prepared a plate of pancakes. Diane didn't come out of the bathroom for a long time. Over two hours later, Leanne's dad had left for work, the pancakes were cold and Leanne was daydreaming about a steaming bubble bath.

Diane sauntered out the bedroom, her face and clothing immaculate. When she caught sight of the plate of syrup drizzled pancakes her ash coloured eyes sparked, "Do you realize how many calories are in those bland, flattened bread rolls?"

Leanne gave a toothy smile and ambled past her. Her shower didn't go as she expected it to. It was so cold that she couldn't even get into it. She doused herself in deodorant and dry shampoo before dressing. When she came out into the kitchen, she saw that the pancakes were gone and Diane was sitting rigidly at the counter.

She eyed the brunette in annoyance, then made herself feel a little bit better by reminding herself of her payment. With 5500 dollars in mind, she put on a grin. "So, A-April said we could bunk at her place since there's m-more room there. So, I'll p-pa-pack my bag and we can just take all your stuff over there before work."

Diane didn't acknowledge her at all. Leanne shrugged and went back to her room to pack. She came out with all three of their bags. Diane made it clear that she had no desire to walk to the store, so Leanne paid a taxi to drive them the few blocks. She ended up leaving Diane and their bags in the apartment, much to Leanne's relief.

She went downstairs and opened up the store. She sat behind the counter most of the morning, relishing in the beauty of quiet solitude. When the bell rang she sat up straight to greet the customer. Her welcome got stuck in her throat when she saw who it was. Kelvin's dark blue eyes were crinkled in the corners just as they'd been when they had first met. He came in with his hands in his pockets, with a one sided smile.

"Hey you," He said, leaning against the counter, "How've you been?"

Leanne frowned, "I-Is there anything I can h-help you with?" She hated that stammer…

"Yeah, I actually wanted to apologise. I shouldn't have been so insensitive and I know that now. Will you forgive me?"

Hazel eyes darkened, "Why d-don't you just leave? I don't know why you b-bothered to come here."

"Because I like you!" Kelvin said in a pleading voice. Obviously, he thought he was being exceptionally charming and genuine.

Leanne was sure her frown looked exactly as Diane's had earlier. "Well, I d-don't. Like you, I mean."

"Oh, c'mon! Just give me a chance. One date, that's all I'm asking for." Kelvin said, waggling his eyebrows.

An exhausted sigh left Leanne's lips. She mulled it over in her head, then looked up at him suspiciously, "If I w-went on this date for you, just this one date, will you not come b-back to this shop?"

"Well, if you don't enjoy—"

"I won't enjoy it…"

"Fine, then. By the way, you smell really good."

Kelvin attempted to make conversation with her, but he quickly gave up and left the store. He winked back at her as the door closed. Leanne rubbed her eyes tiredly. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a headache behind her eyes. She was considering sleeping behind the counter when she felt her phone vibrate against the one side of her ass. She answered it without looking at how it was.

"Hello?"

_Hey! It's your favourite turtle!"_

Leanne felt her spirits lift, "Hey, Mikey."

"_You sound down. What's up, dudette?"_

"Noo-oothing," Leanne said through a yawn. "How'd you g-get my number?"

"_Donnie got it when he fixed your cell!"_

"Oh."

"_So, I was thinking, we should go out sometime. I like pizza, you like pizza. It just works out, see!"_

Leanne allowed herself a tiny smile before answering, "Sure, Mikey. As long as I'm not t-the one making it."

"_Radical! Be sure to wear something super sexy. Like that dress April got you into."_

There were snorts of laughter from both lines and Leanne suddenly got a thought that made her entire frame lift, "Say, Mikey… Can I ask a favour?"

"_Course, Leah! What can the Mikester do for you? You want me to rescue you? You want me to be a puppy? I can do that, you know."_

"W-Well I guess, in a way, you are rescuing me if you do me this favour." Leanne bit her lip before saying, "I know you guys are… what you are, but do you h-happen to have a shower I could use?"

There was a complete absence of sound from the other line. Then Michelangelo cleared his throat and replied, _"Yeah, we got a shower. A tub too… Uh… I'm sure you could use it. I'll come past and pick you up tonight. Is eight ok?"_

Leanne squealed in delight, "That's wonderful, Mikey! You're wonderful! Eight is perfect." She was sure Mikey was blushing and scratching the back of his head as she said this. He really was a sweetheart. She thanked him again and they hung up after chatting for a while.

The rest of the day seemed to pass a lot more slowly now that she had hot water to look forward to. That evening she went up to the apartment. Diane was asleep on the couch, curled up into a tight ball. She looked a lot prettier while she slept. Her face wasn't marred with dark looks or glares. She looked peaceful. Leanne went into the room and came out with her bag and a blanket. She tucked the blanket around Diane, left some money and a note on the coffee table that said that she could order in dinner and that she'd be out for a while. She'd just put down the note when she heard a tap at the window. She hitched her bag onto her shoulder and opened the window.

Instead of coming inside, Leanne climbed out onto the fire escape. Michelangelo was grinning broadly as he gave her a hug. He took her bag and put it over his own shoulder, then pulled out a piece of fabric. He held it up looking sheepish.

"I thought maybe you should put this over your eyes…" He said, shuffling his feet.

Leanne enthusiastically let him tie the fabric over her eyes. But the enthusiasm died a little when she felt him pick her up and say, "Hold tight."

It wasn't as bad as the time they run over the roofs, but it was close. She stared into nothingness as the youngest turtle moved on unknown pathways. A few times, Mikey would pull her around onto his shell and she'd have to clutch at him as he climbed something. She heard something grind and Mikey walked forward.

He placed her down on her feet and removed the blindfold. Leanne blinked at the sudden bright light. When her eyes adjusted she found herself looking at a spacious room with a full kitchen and lounge. There was a second storey with a number of doors that led to other rooms. Leanne blinked at the wide TV screen and video games that were stacked untidily around it.

"Wow," Was all she could say.

Mikey stood beside here, looking proud at her reaction. "Nice pad, eh?"

"Yeah."

Mikey nodded her forwards and they went up the stairs to one of the doors. It opened into a bathroom with a decent sized shower. On the toilet seat was a neatly folded towel.

"I picked out the nicest one we had," Mikey said, referring to the towel.

Leanne smiled at him pleasantly, "Thank you so much, Mike. I owe you one." She gushed, feeling joyful at the prospects of a bath.

Mikey showed her how to work the taps and once she got the hang of it, he left. Leanne hastily undressed and hopped into the shower. It was the most wonderful feeling to have scalding water hit her sticky skin. She washed her hair and cleaned herself thoroughly before stepping out. She'd just wrapped the towel around her body when she heard raised voices.

They were arguing. She heard her name come up and her heart dropped to her stomach. Had her persuading Michelangelo to let her shower at their place caused a fight? She secured the towel around her and opened the bathroom door. The cool air on her bare shoulders stung. She walked on her toes to the balcony that overlooked the first floor.

She felt as if she'd been thrown into a bathtub of ice cubes. For a moment her heart stopped.

Lying on the couch, trying not to move as Donnie leaned over him with a needle and thread, was Leonardo. A huge tear in his forehead was bleeding profusely, but he looked more irritated than sore. Mikey was standing next to them, worry plain in his baby blue eyes.

Opposite them sat Raph. He held a cloth to his shoulder. Blood was slowly seeping through the material, but he didn't seem to notice it much. His amber eyes were blazing as he growled obscenities.

"L-Leo! Raph!" Leanne choked out, her eyes so wide that one could see the rings of blue, green and brown in them.

She hurried down the stairs, almost slipping. She barrelled into the back of the couch, leaning over it to gaze down at Leo. The blue masked turtle looked stunned to see her. He mutely opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could speak, "What are you doing here?"

Leanne gestured towards Mikey, "I had to shower." She said simply.

Leonardo nodded confusedly, then cringed as Donnie started to stitch his wound up. His hands twitched and Leanne impulsively grabbed hold of his closest hand, squeezing it. The twitching stopped and so did the cringing. He seemed to be concentrating more on not crushing her hand than the needle that was poking in and out of his skin. His silver eyes found hers and he gave her a reassuring nod. He pulled his larger hand out of hers and spoke through gritted teeth, "Mike, get her to sit down. She looks like she's going to faint."

It was a good possibility. She felt so cold and nauseous and light-headed at that moment. Leanne felt the orange masked turtle take hold of her upper arms and guide her away. She heard him say, "Get your shell off the chair, Raph, Leah needs it more than you do!"

His comment broke her daze and Leanne rushed out of Mikey's grip to Raph. She stood close to his side, stooping to examine him for injuries. There were a few scrapes, but his shoulder wound seemed to be the worst. Leanne lightly slapped his hand away and took up the burden of holding the rag. She was focussed entirely on keeping it firmly against his muscled shoulder, but she still noticed his gaze wasn't on the injury. Rather, it was on her. And for the first time since they'd met, he was didn't have any smartass quips to give her.

Leanne didn't hear it, but there was a soft pad of a cane on the floor.

"This must be the woman you spoke of, my sons?"

Leanne pulled her eyes away from Raphael's shoulder to look behind her. Her mouth dropped open. A rat stood there, surveying the scene of injured turtles and strange girl. He wore a tattered maroon robe and his tail moved slowly from side to side. His eyes were sharp despite the grey in his fur and were trained on her. Leanne vaguely remembered that she was still only in a towel as her eyes rolled back into her head. She expected to smack into the floor, but instead she was caught and held by a pair of solid arms that smelt distinctly of sweat, blood and petrol.

**Thanks for reading this chapter. I tried to make it longer to make up for how long I haven't updated. I hope you enjoyed it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**XIV**

It was the cold cloth that woke Leanne. She hesitatingly opened one hazel eye. The first thing she saw was the furry, long nose of a giant rat that was kneeling beside her, the wet cloth held in one paw. She tore her eyes from the rodent to glance in turn at each of the turtles that were standing around her with mixed expressions. She swallowed before murmuring weakly, "I didn't… eat l-lunch. I'm… seeing t-th-things now." She heard an amused chuckle and felt her forehead being dabbed at again. She closed her eye and sighed from the relief she got from the coolness.

After a minute of enjoying the care she was receiving, Leanne opened her eyes slowly and settled them on the rat next to her. His eyes were dark and warm, but revealed his distrust of her. Leanne tried to sit up, but the rat and Donatello each put a hand on her shoulders and gently pushed her back to lie down. It was then that she noticed what she was lying on. It was the couch that Leonardo had been bleeding all over. Leanne had to breathe deeply to stop herself from feeling sicker.

She looked sideways at the rat, one eyebrow raised, "W-Why aren't y-you a turtle?"

The rat's mouth quirked upwards a little, "Because, miss, I was born a rat."

"B-B-But… you should b-be a tor-tortoise at least."

"Yet I am a rat," He said in a soft voice, "and I shall remain so for the duration of my being." And he raised his paw to swab at her forehead again.

Leanne looked extremely puzzled as she lay on that couch, letting the rodent treat her. She gazed up at the turtles, giving them a tiny smile which Mikey returned enthusiastically.

Don was the first one to say anything. "How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"N-Not bad," She said quietly, "I a-almost forgot I p-passed out."

The purple masked turtle smiled reassuringly, saying, "Yeah, I expected as much. Raph managed to catch you before you could hit your head on anything. So, no concussions for you."

Leanne grimaced and tried to sit up again. This time, she felt someone put their hands under her arms and pull her up so that she leaned back onto some cushions. She glimpsed Leo moving away to stand where he was before. She mumbled a thank you, feeling her cheeks redden.

"As you are unfit for travel," The rat said, gaining her attention, "You may spend the night here."

Leanne looked at him wide-eyed, "N-No! That's alright, I c-can just rest up at April's."

Almost immediately there were protests from five different mouths.

"You are unwell…"

"Like shell, dudette!"

"You ain't going nowhere, squeaker!"

"I would advise again it…"

"I really think you should reconsider, Leanne."

Leanne frowned and rubbed her shoulder, retorting, "N-No way! I don't want—" She froze. Almost robotically, she looked down at herself. One of the turtles had untidily buttoned her up in an oversized shirt which had the sleeves rolled up. She could feel the towel Mikey had given her was still secure around herself. But beneath the towel, she felt nothing. Now that she thought of it, she'd been too freaked out by all the bleeding turtles to worry about such a trivial thing like getting dressed. Her face went red quickly, considering that seconds ago she'd been as pale as a lily. Suppressing an odd feeling of mixed screaming and crying, she hugged her arms around her shoulders.

"I think… I should g-get my c-clothes." She said in a tiny voice.

Michelangelo bent closer to her, "No worries, besides our awesome ninja stuff, we don't wear anything!" He said that as if it would reassure her. His huge grin was honest and sweet, but at that moment Leanne wanted nothing more than for all the turtles and their (was he a step-rat-brother?) to disappear.

Leanne stared at him uncomfortably, stating bluntly, "I don't care. None of you have breasts, so you have nothing to show."

Raphael smirked, "Heh, neither do ya, now that ya mention it."

Leanne glared at him but it was Mikey that replied, "That's not right, bro. Weren't you groping her when she went cold?"

Raph scowled at his baby brother, his fingers twitching with the desire to pound him. With his focus on Mike, he never saw the small, soft fist smack his eye. It wasn't really hard, but it was enough to stun him. Leanne had risen so quickly to strike him, that she was left stupefied herself. She knelt on the couch, facing Raphael who was nursing a stinging eye. Getting over the shock, Leanne stuck her tongue out at him mockingly, then jumped off the couch and… promptly fell in a heap on the floor. Dizzily, she ran wobbly to the stairs, crawled up them using both her feet and hands, and effectively locked herself in the bathroom.

A while later she came out in in a pair of long pyjama pants, fluff rimmed boots and an oversized sweater. She wore a beanie over her damp brown hair and her face was still glowing pink.

The rat and the turtles had moved to the kitchen table. When Raph saw her, he made a move to get up and was stopped by the rat placing a hand on his sinewy arm.

"I trust you are more comfortable, miss?" He asked her.

"Y-Yeah, thanks." She said, coming to stand by the table awkwardly.

The rat observed her while he spoke, "I have heard of you from my sons. You are known as Leanne Volk?" Leanne nodded affirmatively. "Then, I am obliged to ask of you that you do not reveal your knowledge of our family to anyone outside this room."

Leanne blinked, "F-Father? Family?" Her eyes noticed the grey streaks in the rat's fur for the first time.

He nodded, "Yes, I am the father of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo."

Leanne swallowed again, thinking that her mouth was feeling too dry. She said croakily, "I-I wouldn't. I mean, I w-wouldn't t-tell anyone. No one would b-be-believe me even if I did."

"I am grateful to hear that, miss Volk," He said, his ears twitching, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Splinter."

So far, none of the turtles had made a sound, except Raph who kept groaning and touching his nose. Mikey sat up straight in his chair, adding to Splinter's introduction, "He's our master!"

"Master… Splinter?" Leanne frowned.

Leo nodded, speaking up, "He taught us all our martial arts skills." He got up and offered his chair to her. When she declined, he had a frown that matched hers. Hastily, Leanne said, "I really should be getting b-back."

Splinter nodded, "If that is what you want, then, Raphael, you will guide her to the surface and," He said sternly, "You will return home immediately."

Raphael looked put out, but he stood up and started walking towards the other side of the room. He stopped when she didn't follow him. Instead, she stood where she was watching him in confusion.

"The door's that way, pip." He pointed.

Realisation dawned on her face and she hurried after him. He opened a large metal door that grinded and stepped out. When the door closed, Leanne found herself staring into darkness. She was about to call out for Raph when she felt strong arms yank her up chest-to-chest against a hard plastron. She felt her cheeks flare up again.

"W-What are you doing? You aren't going to g-grope m-me right outside your house, right?"

Her feeble struggles came to a halt when she felt him raise her higher. "What are y-you d-doing?" She squeaked.

She heard Raph sigh and say impatiently, "It's easier it carry ya when yer in front of me holding on." He said it as if it were the most obvious thing to do in the dark.

Leanne was silent for a second, then said curtly, "You w-want me to clutch you like some d-d-damsel in distress?"

"Well, there's always da possibility that I drop ya."

Leanne grimaced more than she'd ever in her life and she wrapped her arms around Raph's neck. She felt her face gradually heating up more against the turtle's rough skin.

"That ain't gonna work, squeaker. Ya gotta hold on tighter."

Growling, Leanne pulled her legs up and put one on either side of Raphael's waist. She felt him stiffen between her legs and a sharp intake of breath.

"Don't you start complaining. I've got nothing else to put around you, damnit!"

She heard him clear his throat and then he started walking. Their journey was silent for the most part. Leanne could feel when he climbed a ladder because his muscles would tighten and relax. Whenever she adjusted her limbs around him, he would swallow so discreetly that Leanne almost didn't notice.

They were climbing a ladder when they stopped and suddenly there was light. Leanne blinked as Raph climbed out of a manhole in the alley by April's apartment. When they were on the surface, they stood there in the dark intertwined until Raph deemed it safe. He let her slide down his front and onto her own two feet. She stood in front of him, massaging her aching thighs.

"Honestly, why do your shells have to be so big?" She complained.

Raph smirked, "It's just works out like dat."

Leanne glared at him darkly. He didn't look fazed.

"Well… g-good night, then." Leanne said grouchily.

An eye ridge was raised, "That's it. I catch yer ass when ya pass out and I carry ya all the way up here and this is the thanks I get. Not to mention that ya punched me."

Leanne blinked and asked, "Did it hurt your feelings?"

The smirk on Raphael's face grew, "In a way, yeah."

"Well, too b-bad."

She'd barely finished her sentence when she was pushed backwards. Her back went against a brick wall and she was about to retort when she was cut short by a green hand trapping her where she was.

"No thanks, no apology?"

Leanne scowled, "F-Fine, thank you."

Golden eyes burned, "That it?"

"W-Well, what did you w-want? Pizza? I finished all of April's last Friday."

Raph cocked his head to the side, murmuring, "I'll think of something. Until then, ya owe me."

**Haha, I'll try my best . I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter and please leave a review for me.**


	15. Chapter 15

**XV**

When Leanne went up to April's apartment she found it in darkness. She groped along the wall for the light switch, clicking it on. The kitchen and lounge was illuminated to reveal an empty Chinese takeaway box on the kitchen counter, along with an assortment of empty soda cans. Taking a few breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, she began to go around the kitchen, cleaning up empty containers and spilt beverages.

A half hour later, she peeked into the bedroom. As she'd suspected, Diane had gone to sleep in the middle of the bed. Leanne grabbed a few extra blankets and a pillow from the bed, and closed the door again, returning to the lounge. She plopped down on the couch, removed her shoes and lay down. It took a while to get comfortable, but eventually she was able to fall into an uneasy sleep.

That night she dreamed that Lukas was marrying Diane, because she claimed that she was pregnant with triplets. Leanne felt utterly helpless as she watched the walk down the aisle. She was screaming that Diane was lying, but neither of them could hear her. Then the aisle started disappearing, turning into a deep, dark nothingness. She felt like she was floating in it, just floating.

"_You can't do anything…" _A voice floated out from the dark.

"You can't do anything!"

Leanne snapped awake, sitting up so quickly that she felt her neck crack.

"You can't do anything for breakfast if you just lie around all morning." Leanne stared up at Diane, who was standing next to her with a haughty look on her face. Her arms were crossed over a silk royal blue shirt and her grey eyes were dark.

"What?" Leanne demanded loudly, her eyes wide.

Diane sniffed disdainfully, "It's almost noon. I'm hungry."

Then make it yourself, Leanne thought to herself. She said aloud, "Alright, what do you want?"

Diane answered without missing a beat, "Fruit parfait."

Leanne blinked at her, asking, "And what would that be?"

"It's fruit.. parfait." She said it as if she was speaking to a deaf child.

Leanne nodded and got up, wincing as her body ached in protest. She waddled into the kitchen to the fridge, peering inside it. Apparently, April hadn't considered food when she'd offered the apartment. There was no food apart from a carton of fruit juice, some tomatoes and a box of cereal in the pantry. Leanne swore and smacked her forehead against the fridge door.

"So," Diane said from the lounge, "You can communicate without stuttering apparently. You should probably still see a speech therapist, anyway."

Flexing her fingers, Leanne mutely moved back to the lounge. She grabbed her jacket from the coffee table and ambled past Diane, who sat on the couch reading a book.

She was out the door before Diane could say another word. It was a beautiful day with a surprisingly clear blue sky and a chilly breeze. She wandered the next three blocks looking for a supermarket. She finally found a grocery store and went inside. The aisles were packed with vegetables, tinned food, fresh baked goods, cleaning supplies and out of date magazines.

Leanne walked down each aisle with a trolley. It was soon filled with boxes of frozen dinners, cartons of fruit juice and milk, eggs, fresh rolls and bread, tins of fruit and jam, frozen burger patties and fruit. She packed it so high with products that it threatened to fall over the sides. She went past a refrigerator that had small, plastic containers of fruit parfait. She stared at them longingly. It would be so much easier to just buy them, rather than have to make it from scratch. She thought of it no longer than three seconds and grabbed four containers of fruit parfait.

The cashier rang up the items and Leanne paid the bill with her pocket money. She had to hail a taxi to help her transport all the groceries back to April's apartment. With great difficulty, she managed to carry all eight shopping bags upstairs. She dropped them all on the floor of the kitchen.

Diane came into the kitchen, her grey eyes reflecting her curiosity. Leanne plastered on a fake smile, rifled through a bag and pulled out two containers of fruit parfait. She held them out victoriously to Diane, who looked down her nose at them before snatching them and disappearing back to the couch.

Leanne multitasked between eating the remaining two containers of parfait and packing away the groceries. When she was done, it was well past 2pm. She decided to open the antique store for a few hours. It meant she wouldn't have to spend any more time than what was necessary with her unhelpful guest.

In the early evening, she was just starting to close up the store when the store bell ringed. She glanced over her shoulder to the door and frowned. Kelvin stood there, with that cocky, little half smile on his face. His eyes danced merrily as he approached her.

"I was hoping to run into you," He said. He held his arms out wide, "So, how about dinner?"

Leanne gave him a look and returned to what she was doing – playing with a mannequin. She felt Kelvin stand close to her and turned around again.

"I was really looking forward to hearing that cute accent of yours." He said charmingly.

"I-I don't." Leanne mumbled, feeling her cheeks heat up. Damnit!

Kelvin grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, laughing, "C'mon! A refreshing evening with a delicious dinner and a handsome fellow, how about it?"

Leanne pulled her arm out of his grip, replying in a monotone, "S-Sounds more l-like a night where I'll freeze my b-butt off while eating cheap f-food."

Kelvin laughed again, "I'm finally seeing your humorous side."

"I thought when you said t-that you wanted to go out, I t-thought you meant like next week or s-s-something…"

"Well, I thought tonight would be good."

"… seriously?"

"Seriously."

Leanne sighed loudly and rubbed her burning eyes. Finally, she resorted to staring at him. Hopefully he'd get the idea and get lost. Unfortunately, besides his smile wavering a little, he made no other changes.

"F-Fine… I just need to change." Leanne mumbled.

With an enthusiastic nod from Kelvin, she dragged herself upstairs. She ended up having to raid April's closet to find something date-worthy. She found a plum purple summer dress and matched it with a black cardigan and leggings. Instead of using a pair of April's heels, however, she pulled on a pair of heavy leather boots.

When she came out the bedroom, Diane was reading a book on the couch. She barely looked up from the pages as she said, "Be safe."

Leanne was taken aback. Did she mean that? But then Diane added, "Pregnancy would ruin your body more than it already is."

Nope, she hadn't changed at all in the two days they'd been bunking together.

Downstairs, Kelvin was surprised at what she was wearing, but hid it relatively well.

"Wow, uh, nice shoes."

Leanne rolled her eyes as she past him.

Kelvin had called a taxi to take them to a restaurant downtown. It was a nice looking place with rich red and brown tones. There were tables indoors and outdoors. Unfortunately, Kelvin requested a table outside. It was beautifully decorated, with two short, cream coloured candles on either side of a tall, intricate glass vase that held two long stemmed red roses.

There wasn't much conversation, but Kelvin took the opportunity of offering his jacket to her when he noticed her shivering. Leanne grouchily accepted it, slumping lower in her chair. She scanned the menu and her eyes widened the more she read. Hell, this place wasn't cheap. She composed herself and when their waiter came to take their orders she ordered the most expensive thing she could find, just to spite Kelvin. It was a weird fish thing.

The waiter left and came back with a bottle of wine, which he showed to Kelvin for approval before pouring it into two glasses. When the waiter had left, Leanne said bluntly, "I don't drink."

Kelvin smiled charmingly, "I figured as much. But I thought you might like this one."

Leanne peered at the wine glass. With the blood coloured liquid in it, it gave the impression of an oddly shaped ruby. "Try it." Kelvin said encouragingly when she shook her head.

"Alright, so," He attempted to make conversation for the sixth time that evening, "How've you been?"

"Fine."

"How's work?"

"Good."

"How's the family?"

"Fantastic."

Kelvin observed her with an amused smile. "You don't like talking? Or are you just giving me any answer?"

"Brilliant." Leanne said in a monotone, not even paying attention to what he was saying.

Kelvin laughed loudly. His guffaws got Leanne's attention because the next second she was asking, "W-What?"

"You're so strange! I've never met a girl whose hated being on a date with a good looking guy." He was beaming but Leanne wondered if he was finally beginning to get annoyed with her.

Kelvin opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by their waiter bringing their food. He placed a plate of steak in front of Kelvin and the seafood dish in front of Leanne. Leanne stared at it. It looked revolting.

Kelvin swallowed a piece of steak and tried again, "Seriously, though, how are you parents?"

"They're fine."

Leanne poked a squishy part of her food. It appeared to be the leg of something. She gave up after another minute of trying to find something edible on her plate and, instead, grabbed a bread roll from the basket and nibbled on it.

"And… how are you?"

His question brought her up short. She raised her head from her roll and replied, "I'm g-good."

"It doesn't look like you are. You look like you haven't slept properly in days and you're not eating well."

"I'm eating a damn roll!" Leanne said loudly, glaring at him.

"Yes you are, but a roll is comfort food."

"If I wanted damn comfort food," Leanne growled, her eyes darkening angrily, "I would be eating soup."

Her statement caused Kelvin to raise his eyebrows, "Soup?" He asked to clarify. "I actually took you for a girl that looked to carbs for comfort."

Leanne was stunned silent. For several moments, they stared at each other. Kelvin's eyes gradually widened in horror and Leanne's narrowed so much that the whites could barely be seen.

"I-I didn't mean it that way!" Kelvin blurted out desperately.

Leanne breathed deeply. When she had her temper in check, she casually reached out and took up her wine glass. She drained the delicate stemmed glass in three seconds. The waiter hurried up and offered to fill it again.

"Just leave the bottle." She said, smiling sweetly up at him. The waiter blinked and returned her smile, nodding.

As Leanne filled her glass again, she said in a dangerously low voice, "So, what? My butt too big for you?" Her second glass of crimson wine was gone as quickly as the first.

Kelvin shook his head quickly, "No, you misunderstand me. I-I meant—"

"What then? You got a problem that my boobs are too small?" Leanne demanded, her glare never ceasing. She poured herself a third glass.

"No, no! Your boobs look great."

"So my hips are the problem? Is that supposed to mean that you think my thighs are huge?"

"No!" Kelvin looked at a complete loss. He was running his fingers through his hair and sweat was staring to bead on his face. "No, I… I mean… Hey!" He grinned proudly at having found another topic, "You spoke about ten sentences without stammering."

Nothing could have irritated her more than that comment. Leanne reached over the table, grabbed Kelvin's wine glass and drained it, along with her own.

Kelvin waved his hands, "Look, I didn't mean to offend you! I just wanted to see that you were alright."

"Alright? As opposed to what, exactly?" Leanne grumbled, pouring another glass of wine for herself.

He looked reluctant to answer her, but after a minute of threatening eye contact from Leanne, he said softly, "I actually… thought… you might have… turned to…. substance abuse."

Leanne blinked rapidly as she processed what he said, "Drugs?"

"Well, considering that you just finished an entire bottle of wine by yourself, alcohol is also a strong possibility."

Leanne glowered as she gestured for their waiter. She asked him to pack their meals and he disappeared back to the kitchen with their plates.

"I'm not on drugs and this is the first time I've drank anything with alcohol." She said firmly.

Kelvin shrugged, "Denial is a symptom—"

"Of what? Depression? I'm not depressed!" Leanne said fiercely.

The waiter came back with a plastic packet which he put on the table.

"I'm just trying to help you! I know how it feels to go through—"

Leanne pushed her chair back, standing up quickly. "You," She snarled, slamming her palms against the table, "Have no idea of what I feel."

Kelvin couldn't get one word in as Leanne continued raging at him, "I'm not some damsel in distress! I can take care of myself, regardless of any family situation."

"I know, but—"

"I don't need to be rescued by anyone! Especially by someone like you!"

"Yes, but—"

"So stay the hell away from me!"

She made a move to leave. Surprisingly fast, Kelvin stood up and grabbed her wrist, "Look, just shut up! I didn't—" He yanked her around to face him.

At that same moment, something came whizzing out of the night sky and slammed into the side of Kelvin's head with a loud THUNK. He crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap. Leanne was slow to grasp what happened. She still didn't understand it when she grabbed up the packet that held their dinner and the wine bottle. Without an ounce of hesitation, Leanne turned the bottle upside down and poured the last remaining wine onto Kelvin's head.

He awoke, spluttering. He looked up at her in confusion.

Leanne smiled in a sickly sweetly way, "Aw, whoops, looks like I didn't finish it after all." She removed his jacket from around her shoulders and dropped it over him.

Seconds later, she was out the restaurant and down the street before Kelvin had even stood up.

**Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I would also like to say thank you to my reviewers for the praise and encouragement they've offered me. I hope you continue to read and take delight in this story. If you are able to, please leave me feedback of areas I could improve in my writing. Thank you again everyone!**


End file.
